Sam Houser cancels the interview GQ spent four years negotiating, and his brother Dan says he hasn't even seen GTA 6

Rockstar's president pulls out “for personal reasons” of the only interview planned before launch. Dan Houser, who left in 2020, is avoiding the game so it doesn't distract him.

Less than seven weeks from the biggest launch in video game history, the two men who created the series aren't going to talk about it. One because he cancelled the interview. The other because he won't even look.

Sam Houser pulls out of the interview

GQ writer Sam White said so on X, as reported by TheGamer. GQ had spent "four years of talks" with Rockstar on an exclusive interview with Sam Houser ahead of launch, and Rockstar had confirmed it in April. In recent weeks the plan changed, "mostly for personal reasons".

White didn't hide his disappointment: after a tough year personally and so much time invested in the story, he wrote, it's gutting to be empty-handed on a historic game and a fascinating developer.

That's all that is known. "Personal reasons" can mean anything, and speculating would be irresponsible. What is clear is who is fronting GTA 6: Rob Nelson and Aaron Garbut, the co-studio heads at Rockstar North, who are the ones who have spoken to Game Informer, IGN and LOVE Magazine.

Dan Houser: "I haven't seen it"

Dan Houser helped write and produce every GTA and Red Dead Redemption 2, and left Rockstar in 2020. In a Variety podcast interview reported by Kotaku, he said he still hasn't seen the GTA 6 gameplay that premiered in August:

"I haven't seen it yet. I will try and avoid it because I always try and avoid stuff that's going to distract or disrupt me creatively."

His explanation is that he can't really play open-world games any more: as he plays he deconstructs how they were made, guessing the team's strengths and weaknesses, and it distracts him. He says he did the same with Red Dead Redemption: once work started, he never watched another Western.

He now runs Absurd Ventures, which he founded in 2023 and which is developing two video games: an open-world comedy and a dystopian sci-fi about a video game development gone very wrong.

Why it matters

Rockstar has always been a secretive company, and Sam Houser more so. His interviews can be counted on one hand. Losing the only one planned for GTA 6 leaves the launch without the voice of the person who runs the studio. And his brother, the series' other creator, deliberately staying away underlines that GTA 6 is the first GTA finished without him.

None of this affects the game or its date. But it does change who tells the story: no longer the Housers, but the team at Rockstar North.

FAQ

Who is Sam Houser?

The president and co-founder of Rockstar Games. He still runs the studio.

Did Dan Houser work on GTA 6?

He left Rockstar in 2020, six years before launch. He says he hasn't seen the gameplay and will try to avoid it.

Why did Sam Houser cancel the interview?

According to the GQ writer who was going to do it, "mostly for personal reasons". No further explanation has been given.