Absurd Ventures

"We love creating universes that people get lost in, and they can't find the bottom of it." Thank you to Tribeca Festival for hosting us at the Storytelling Summit this past weekend with our partners from Smilegate, Dark Horse Comics, LLC, and Kevin Anderson & Associates for a talk about narrative and worldbuilding across Absurd Ventures projects, moderated by Elle Osili-Wood. Read more at IGN: https://lnkd.in/gMmWvnMr

Dan Houser and Lazlow Jones will discuss Absurd’s approach to storytelling and worldbuilding at this year’s Tribeca Festival alongside several of our partners from Dark Horse Comics, LLC, Kevin Anderson & Associates, and Smilegate. The discussion, titled “LUMINARIES: DAN HOUSER’S ABSURD VENTURES” is part of Tribeca Festival’s Storytelling Summit and will take place Saturday, June 13, 3:30pm at Spring Studios in New York City.    The panel will feature Absurd’s Dan Houser and Lazlow alongside Tim Wiesch (Head of Publishing, Dark Horse Comics) discussing American Caper, Kevin Anderson (CEO of Kevin Anderson & Associates) discussing A Better Paradise novels, and Paul Yijae Lee (Vice President of GTM, Smilegate) discussing Smilegate’s video game publishing partnership with Absurd. Moderated by Elle Osili-Wood. Visit Tribeca’s website for more information on available passes: https://lnkd.in/e3hMgs-G 

Today, we’ve announced the first wave of voice castings for the Absurdaverse, our interconnected comedy satire universe with untitled animated series and video game projects in development. With an ensemble cast of hundreds expected across the Absurdaverse projects, the first slate of names leans heavily into comedy veterans and standup stars including Rachel Dratch, Dan Soder, Ari Matti, Annie Lederman, Yamaneika Saunders, and Steph Tolev, with many more to be confirmed in the future. More details at Variety: https://lnkd.in/gygxA6Sw The very first animated shorts will be premiered at an exclusive live comedy event as part of the Netflix Is A Joke Festival on May 7 at the Hollywood Improv in Los Angeles. In these original shorts featuring character designs by Kendra Melton (Rick & Morty, Venture Bros), eventgoers will be introduced to an ensemble of eclectic and unhinged characters, including a Chief People Officer who treats his job like a DJ residency (voiced by Dan Soder), a chain-smoking sovereign citizen podcaster (voiced by Rachel Dratch), an insane MMA fighter (voiced by up-and-coming comedian, Samantha Alton), and more. The event will feature live standup from Patton Oswalt and Absurdaverse cast members Dan Soder, Ari Matti, Yamaneika Saunders, Steph Tolev, and host Annie Lederman. Limited tickets are now available: https://lnkd.in/gMx_csg6

Join our Absurd teams at our studios in Santa Monica and San Rafael. Check out all our open roles in game development, books publishing, marketing and more, including: Lead Character Artist VFX Director Principal Gameplay Designer Publishing Manager (Books) Marketing Coordinator and many others See all current opportunities at https://lnkd.in/g5z6jPW4

The legendary video game developer has expanded his self-publishing venture into a new publishing program that will acquire across numerous genres. The U.K.’s Midas Group will handle submissions. https://lnkd.in/g_-DdgSx

This week, we released the debut issue of our new crime fiction comic book series, AMERICAN CAPER # 1 – in partnership with Dark Horse Comics, LLC. Copies are sold out at our official store but may still be found at comic shops across America and beyond. https://lnkd.in/gGdwiUQK

Watch Dan’s in-depth conversation with Lex Fridman, discussing past work and shedding light on Absurd’s various projects across the A Better Paradise, Absurdaverse, and American Caper worlds.

The novelization of A BETTER PARADISE Volume One: An Aftermath is out now in hardcover, ebook and audio. The audiobook is read by legendary narrator Ray Porter and is available exclusively on Audible.   “At its heart, this is a mythological story about video game development. I have always felt this is fascinating source material for narrative fiction and am finally getting the opportunity to explore it with A Better Paradise Volume One: An Aftermath.” - Dan Houser "A harrowing techno-futurist fever dream of justifiably paranoid creators being hunted down by their own creation. A game-dev's worst nightmare, imagined by one of the best writers ever to work in the gaming industry. “Frankenstein” meets “Free Guy”... if both were on a really bad acid trip." - Ernest Cline, author of Ready Player One “This book has everything a reader could possibly ask for—interesting and complicated characters, a sense of foreboding balanced with humor, and a brilliantly executed story that keeps you on the edge of your seat wanting more. It is a privilege to narrate it.” - Ray Porter This book is the first story from an expansive new universe and is also the first release from our Absurd Ventures Press imprint, distributed by Simon & Schuster. Physical novel retail links: https://lnkd.in/g6_xM3cC Audible listing: https://lnkd.in/gCGbJzpH Thank you to our partners at Audible, Simon & Schuster and Midas.

Thank you to L.A. Comic Con, Comikaze Entertainment, Inc., IGN Entertainment, Ryan McCaffrey for hosting and moderating this In Conversation panel with Dan Houser at the 2025 L.A. Comic Con last weekend.   For those that weren’t able to watch it live, you can view the conversation at IGN’s YouTube channel where Dan speaks a bit about his body of work on series like GTA, Red Dead and Bully, as well as upcoming projects at Absurd Ventures including our forthcoming crime-fiction comic book series, American Caper. https://lnkd.in/gAwMQcVq