Dan Houser says he is not writing GTA 6 — and his disc comments do not mean what the headlines said

Dan Houser — who co-founded Rockstar Games with his brother Sam and was central to Grand Theft Auto for two decades — went to San Diego Comic-Con to talk about his current company, and was asked about Grand Theft Auto.

He answered two things clearly. Within about a day, one of those answers had been written up as evidence for two opposite conclusions.

The part that is unambiguous

He is not working on the story for GTA 6. He said so directly.

That is worth putting first, because it is the frame for everything else he says about games. Houser left Rockstar in 2020. He founded Absurd Ventures in 2021 and launched Absurd Ventures Press in March 2026. When he comments on the industry now, he is a well-informed former insider with strong opinions — not a person with a seat at the table where GTA 6 decisions are made.

The part that got mangled

Asked at Comic-Con about the physical-versus-digital debate, Houser said he loves physical media, that he thinks everyone does, and that if people want physical copies, companies should provide them.

Here is what happened to that sentence:

• One set of headlines read it as "GTA 6 disc hopes rise" — a former Rockstar executive endorsing physical releases, therefore GTA 6 gets a disc.
• Another read it as "Rockstar co-founder doesn't care about physical games" — taking his personal indifference about his own buying habits and dropping the second half of the thought.

Both are the same quote. Neither is what he said.

What he expressed was a fairly ordinary two-part position: I am not especially attached to discs myself, and companies should still make them for the people who are. That is a view about consumer choice, offered by someone with no operational say over any publisher's distribution strategy.

And on the GTA 6 disc question specifically: only Rockstar can answer it. A man who has not worked there in six years telling an interviewer he likes discs is not a signal about a release plan. It is a preference.

The map below separates each version.

What He Said Versus What Was Reported

Dan Houser, GTA 6 and Absurd Ventures: which claims hold up

The claims circulating about Dan Houser's role in GTA 6, his comments on physical media, and what he is actually working on — each graded against what he said and where.

All (7)Confirmed (4)Disputed (2)Unknown (1)

• Dan Houser is not working on the story for GTA 6.

  Confirmed

  He said so directly. This is the single most useful fact for anyone reading his comments as GTA 6 signals: he left Rockstar in 2020, and the writing on the game is not his. Whatever he says about the industry, he is not speaking as someone with a seat at that table.

  GTA BOOM — what he actually said ↗

• He said companies should offer physical copies if players want them.

  Confirmed

  Asked at Comic-Con about physical versus digital, he said he loves physical media and thinks everyone does, and that if people want it, companies should provide it. That is a preference and a general industry view, expressed by someone with no operational role at a publisher.

  Tech4Gamers — the physical media remarks ↗

• His comments mean GTA 6 will get a disc release.

  Disputed

  This is the leap, and it is the one the coverage made. He does not work at Rockstar, has no say in its distribution decisions, and was answering a general question about the industry. Coverage framing his answer as raising hopes for a GTA 6 disc is reading a former employee's personal preference as a corporate signal. Only Rockstar can announce how it ships its game.

  Beebom — 'GTA 6 disc hopes rise' ↗GTA BOOM — what he actually said versus the framing ↗

• He said he does not care about physical games.

  Disputed

  The opposite of the previous distortion, from a headline pulling the other way. What he expressed was personal indifference about his own buying habits combined with the view that companies should still provide discs for the people who want them. Both halves have been reported separately as though they were the whole quote.

  Tech4Gamers — 'doesn't care about physical games, but companies should provide them' ↗

• Houser left Rockstar Games and now runs his own studio.

  Confirmed

  Matter of record. He co-founded Rockstar with his brother Sam, was central to the Grand Theft Auto series, and departed in 2020. He founded Absurd Ventures in 2021, and launched Absurd Ventures Press in March 2026.

  Absurd Ventures — company record ↗Dan Houser launches Absurd Ventures Press ↗

• The Comic-Con appearance was about Absurd Ventures, not GTA.

  Confirmed

  He appeared with fellow Rockstar veteran Lazlow Jones to discuss Absurd's podcast series and new issues of its American Caper comic. The GTA questions were asked of him; they were not what he came to talk about.

  Tech4Gamers — Comic-Con appearance coverage ↗

• When Absurd Ventures will ship a video game.

  Unknown

  Open. The studio has been building out its universe through comics, podcasts and now a publishing arm, and Houser has talked about a game in development. No release date or platform list has been announced.

  Absurd Ventures — company record ↗

How this is calculated

Each row is one claim in circulation. CONFIRMED means he said it, or it is a matter of public record about his career. DISPUTED means the claim is an interpretation that goes beyond what he said, and the row shows the gap. UNKNOWN means the question is open and he has not addressed it. Quotes are reproduced as reported from the appearance in question rather than paraphrased into something tidier, because the paraphrase is usually where the drift starts.

Data as of July 24, 2026 · verified July 24, 2026 · v1

Assumptions, limitations & sources

Assumptions

• · Remarks are attributed to the Comic-Con appearance as reported by the outlets that covered it.
• · Career facts about his Rockstar exit and Absurd Ventures are treated as matters of public record.

Limitations

• · This covers what Houser has said. It is not a source on Rockstar's plans — Rockstar speaks for Rockstar, and he has not worked there since 2020.
• · Nothing here reports a GTA 6 release date, platform list or feature. Those come from Rockstar and from nowhere else.
• · Interview remarks are reproduced from secondary coverage of the appearance rather than from a full transcript.

Sources

• What the creator of GTA really said about the end of physical discs — GTA BOOM, checked July 24, 2026
• Rockstar co-founder says he doesn't care about physical games, but companies should provide them — Tech4Gamers, checked July 24, 2026
• GTA 6 disc hopes rise after Rockstar co-founder publicly backs physical game releases — Beebom, checked July 24, 2026
• Absurd Ventures — company record — Wikipedia, checked July 24, 2026
• Dan Houser launches Absurd Ventures Press — Indian Printer & Publisher, checked July 24, 2026

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What he is actually doing

The reason he was at Comic-Con at all: Absurd Ventures, the studio he founded after Rockstar, which has been building out an original fictional universe across media rather than leading with a game. He appeared alongside Lazlow Jones — another Rockstar veteran, best known to players as the voice behind the radio stations — to discuss Absurd's podcast series and new issues of its American Caper comic.

The publishing arm, Absurd Ventures Press, launched in March 2026.

It is an unusual sequencing. Most studios ship a game and then extend it into comics and audio; Absurd has run that in reverse, establishing the world first. Whether a game follows, and when, has not been announced.

The questions readers are asking

Is Dan Houser working on GTA 6? No. He confirmed he is not writing its story, and he left Rockstar in 2020.

Will GTA 6 have a physical disc release? Unknown, and Houser's comments tell you nothing about it. That is Rockstar's decision to announce.

What did he actually say about physical media? That he loves it, thinks everyone does, and that companies should provide it if players want it.

Why did he leave Rockstar? He departed in 2020 after a sabbatical. The company announced the exit at the time; he has not litigated it publicly since.

What is Absurd Ventures? His studio, founded 2021, building an original universe across podcasts, comics and a publishing imprint launched in March 2026.

Is Absurd making a video game? He has spoken about one in development. No release date or platform has been announced.

Who is Lazlow? Lazlow Jones, a longtime Rockstar collaborator best known for the in-game radio in the GTA series. He also left and works with Houser at Absurd.

Why this keeps happening

Houser is one of a small number of people whose passing remarks reliably become GTA headlines, and the incentive structure around a game of that size means every sentence he says gets tested for how far it can be stretched toward a release date.

The tell is simple, and it works on the next cycle too: check whether the person speaking can actually decide the thing being reported. On GTA 6, Houser cannot. On his own studio's work, he can — and that is the part of the interview almost nobody covered.