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One free scan finds every outdated or missing driver and matches the right update for your exact hardware.Free scan · exact hardware matchSmilegate announced a strategic investment in Dan Houser’s Absurd Ventures on December 4, 2024, but it did not disclose the amount or the equity terms. The investment was a company-level partnership aimed at exploring new intellectual property. A separate deal followed in August 2025: Smilegate agreed to globally publish and fund development of an upcoming A BETTER PARADISE open-world science-fiction game.
How much did Smilegate invest in Absurd Ventures?
The amount was not disclosed in Smilegate’s December 4, 2024 announcement. The release described a strategic investment and partnership, but gave no dollar figure, ownership percentage, or other detailed equity terms. It is therefore not possible to say how much of Absurd Ventures Smilegate owns.
What the 2024 investment was meant to support
Smilegate said the companies intended to combine its Asian-market expertise with Absurd Ventures’ creative vision and AAA game experience to pursue global business opportunities. It also identified possible collaboration in online and live-service games, drawing on Smilegate’s experience with CROSSFIRE and the Absurd team’s experience overseeing Grand Theft Auto Online. These were stated aims, not confirmation that a specific commercial project or result had already followed.
Houser described the shared ambition this way: “We both want to build interesting worlds and new player experiences.” The quote appeared in Smilegate’s 2024 announcement.
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Who is Dan Houser, and what is Absurd Ventures?
Dan Houser co-founded Rockstar Games and spent more than 20 years there, working creatively on the Grand Theft Auto and Red Dead Redemption franchises, according to Smilegate. Its 2024 release reported that the two franchises had sold more than 550 million units combined worldwide; that is Smilegate’s figure as of that announcement, not a separately verified current total.
Houser founded Absurd Ventures to develop original properties across several formats. Smilegate’s announcement named video games, live-action and animated film and television, audio-fiction podcasts, books, and comics. It identified A BETTER PARADISE as a science-fiction universe and American Caper as a crime-fiction universe.
What game is Smilegate publishing with Dan Houser?
On August 7, 2025, Smilegate announced a global publishing agreement for an upcoming AAA open-world science-fiction action-adventure game set in the A BETTER PARADISE universe. Smilegate said it planned to make a full-scale investment in the project, including development funding. This is a separate, game-specific agreement announced after the 2024 strategic investment.
Smilegate described the game as being in early development and said its release schedule and platforms would be announced later. The announcement did not specify a release date, platform list, gameplay details, or budget. Houser said the project offered “an opportunity to go somewhere entirely different and to take players on an entirely new adventure.”
Who is making it?
Smilegate’s August 2025 release said Houser was writing and creatively directing the game with his worldbuilding and creative team, including Lazlow and Michael Unsworth. Development at Absurd was being led by Greg Borrud, whom the release identified as a former Niantic general manager and Pandemic Studios co-founder.
How the two Smilegate deals differ
| Relationship | What was announced | What was not disclosed |
|---|---|---|
| Strategic investment, December 2024 | Company-level investment and an intention to explore opportunities around Absurd Ventures’ new intellectual property. | Investment amount, equity percentage, and detailed financial terms. |
| A BETTER PARADISE publishing agreement, August 2025 | Global publishing rights for the named game and planned project investment, including development funding. | Game budget, release schedule, and platforms. |
The first announcement concerned a strategic relationship with the company; the second named a particular game and publishing role. Neither release supplied the financial details listed above.
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What else is available from Absurd Ventures?
A BETTER PARADISE began as an audio-fiction series. Smilegate’s 2025 announcement said Volume One, An Aftermath, debuted at the top of Apple’s Fiction charts and won the 2024 Signal Award for Best Episode of Scripted Fiction. The same release said a novelization was due in October 2025; Absurd Ventures Press subsequently listed A BETTER PARADISE Volume One: An Aftermath as a hardcover novel.
For comics, Absurd Ventures’ official American Caper page identifies Dan Houser as creator and writer and Dark Horse Comics as publisher. It lists the first trade paperback, American Caper Volume 1: Red-Pilled Blues, which collects issues 1–4, as available.
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