Rockstar Games co-founder Dan Houser, the writer behind the studio’s biggest franchises, has said Red Dead Redemption 2 is the best video game he ever worked on.
In an exclusive interview with IGN on Saturday, September 27, at LA Comic Con, we asked Houser which of all the worlds and stories created by the studio over the years still stood out for him.
Houser, whose writing credits include the Grand Theft Auto and Red Dead Redemption series, immediately replied: “Red Dead 2, I think, was the best thing that I worked on. [It’s] the best single kind of realization of open-world storytelling thematic consistency, and understanding how the games are assembled to take you on an emotional journey.”
Red Dead Redemption 2 launched in 2018 and is widely considered one of the greatest video games of all time. We at IGN consider it a masterpiece, with our Red Dead Redemption 2 review returning a 10/10. We said: “Red Dead Redemption 2 is a game of rare quality; a meticulously polished open-world ode to the outlaw era.” Red Dead Redemption 2 has sold an incredible 77 million units in seven years.
There’s also a special place in Houser’s heart for the GTA series too, of course.
“I also think GTA 4,” he added, “because we did try and evolve how we did the storytelling and did it in a fundamental way. I think the middle section of GTA 5 is amazing. When we got the three characters working… I think it was not flawless, but it was so smooth, that middle section. I thought that was really amazing. And then the end of Red Dead 1. Those are my favorite bits.”
In the same interview, Houser also explained why we never got Bully 2. “I think it was just bandwidth issues,” Houser said. “You know, if you’ve got a small lead creative team, and a small senior leadership crew, you just can’t do all the projects you want.”
Houser is currently at Absurd Ventures, the company he started up after leaving Rockstar Games in 2020. His new crime fiction comic series, American Caper, will be released on November 12, 2025, with the first arc comprising 12 issues. While we don’t yet know what games the team is working on, we do know that last September, a group of around 20 developers formerly of Ascendant Studios — including its former CEO — joined Houser’s Absurd Ventures to form a new studio in San Rafael, California: Absurd Marin.
Vikki Blake is a reporter for IGN, as well as a critic, columnist, and consultant with 15+ years experience working with some of the world’s biggest gaming sites and publications. She’s also a Guardian, Spartan, Silent Hillian, Legend, and perpetually High Chaos. Find her at BlueSky.
