<description>&lt;p&gt;Dan Houser is co-founder of Rockstar Games and is a legendary creative mind behind Grand Theft Auto (GTA) and Red Dead Redemption series of video games.&lt;br /&gt; Thank you for listening ❤ Check out our sponsors: &lt;a href="https://lexfridman.com/sponsors/ep484-sc"&gt;https://lexfridman.com/sponsors/ep484-sc&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt; See below for timestamps, transcript, and to give feedback, submit questions, contact Lex, etc.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;Transcript:&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br /&gt; &lt;a href="https://lexfridman.com/dan-houser-transcript"&gt;https://lexfridman.com/dan-houser-transcript&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;CONTACT LEX:&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br /&gt; &lt;b&gt;Feedback&lt;/b&gt; &amp;#8211; give feedback to Lex: &lt;a href="https://lexfridman.com/survey"&gt;https://lexfridman.com/survey&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt; &lt;b&gt;AMA&lt;/b&gt; &amp;#8211; submit questions, videos or call-in: &lt;a href="https://lexfridman.com/ama"&gt;https://lexfridman.com/ama&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt; &lt;b&gt;Hiring&lt;/b&gt; &amp;#8211; join our team: &lt;a href="https://lexfridman.com/hiring"&gt;https://lexfridman.com/hiring&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt; &lt;b&gt;Other&lt;/b&gt; &amp;#8211; other ways to get in touch: &lt;a href="https://lexfridman.com/contact"&gt;https://lexfridman.com/contact&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;EPISODE LINKS:&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br /&gt; Absurd Adventures: &lt;a href="https://absurdventures.com"&gt;https://absurdventures.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt; A Better Paradise: &lt;a href="https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0FCYSK8VD"&gt;https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0FCYSK8VD&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt; American Caper: &lt;a href="https://absurdventures.com/americancaper"&gt;https://absurdventures.com/americancaper&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;SPONSORS:&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br /&gt; To support this podcast, check out our sponsors &amp;amp; get discounts:&lt;br /&gt; &lt;b&gt;Box:&lt;/b&gt; Intelligent content management platform.&lt;br /&gt; Go to &lt;a href="https://lexfridman.com/s/box-ep484-sc"&gt;https://box.com/ai&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt; &lt;b&gt;UPLIFT Desk:&lt;/b&gt; Standing desks and office ergonomics.&lt;br /&gt; Go to &lt;a href="https://lexfridman.com/s/uplift_desk-ep484-sc"&gt;https://upliftdesk.com/lex&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt; &lt;b&gt;CodeRabbit:&lt;/b&gt; AI-powered code reviews.&lt;br /&gt; Go to &lt;a href="https://lexfridman.com/s/coderabbit-ep484-sc"&gt;https://coderabbit.ai/lex&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt; &lt;b&gt;Miro:&lt;/b&gt; Online collaborative whiteboard platform.&lt;br /&gt; Go to &lt;a href="https://lexfridman.com/s/miro-ep484-sc"&gt;https://miro.com/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt; &lt;b&gt;Lindy:&lt;/b&gt; No-code AI agent builder.&lt;br /&gt; Go to &lt;a href="https://lexfridman.com/s/lindy-ep484-sc"&gt;https://go.lindy.ai/lex&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt; &lt;b&gt;Shopify:&lt;/b&gt; Sell stuff online.&lt;br /&gt; Go to &lt;a href="https://lexfridman.com/s/shopify-ep484-sc"&gt;https://shopify.com/lex&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt; &lt;b&gt;LMNT:&lt;/b&gt; Zero-sugar electrolyte drink mix.&lt;br /&gt; Go to &lt;a href="https://lexfridman.com/s/lmnt-ep484-sc"&gt;https://drinkLMNT.com/lex&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;OUTLINE:&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br /&gt; (00:00) &amp;#8211; Introduction&lt;br /&gt; (01:29) &amp;#8211; Sponsors, Comments, and Reflections&lt;br /&gt; (11:32) &amp;#8211; Greatest films of all time&lt;br /&gt; (23:45) &amp;#8211; Making video games&lt;br /&gt; (26:36) &amp;#8211; GTA 3&lt;br /&gt; (29:55) &amp;#8211; Open world video games&lt;br /&gt; (32:42) &amp;#8211; Character creation&lt;br /&gt; (36:09) &amp;#8211; Superintelligent AI in A Better Paradise&lt;br /&gt; (45:21) &amp;#8211; Can LLMs write video games?&lt;br /&gt; (49:41) &amp;#8211; Creating GTA 4 and GTA 5&lt;br /&gt; (1:01:16) &amp;#8211; Hard work and Rockstar&amp;#8217;s culture of excellence&lt;br /&gt; (1:04:56) &amp;#8211; GTA 6&lt;br /&gt; (1:21:46) &amp;#8211; Red Dead Redemption 2&lt;br /&gt; (2:01:39) &amp;#8211; DLCs for GTA and Red Dead Redemption&lt;br /&gt; (2:07:58) &amp;#8211; Leaving Rockstar Games&lt;br /&gt; (2:17:22) &amp;#8211; Greatest game of all time&lt;br /&gt; (2:22:10) &amp;#8211; Life lessons from father&lt;br /&gt; (2:24:29) &amp;#8211; Mortality&lt;br /&gt; (2:41:47) &amp;#8211; Advice for young people&lt;br /&gt; (2:47:49) &amp;#8211; Future of video games&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;PODCAST LINKS:&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br /&gt; &amp;#8211; Podcast Website: &lt;a href="https://lexfridman.com/podcast"&gt;https://lexfridman.com/podcast&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt; &amp;#8211; Apple Podcasts: &lt;a href="https://apple.co/2lwqZIr"&gt;https://apple.co/2lwqZIr&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt; &amp;#8211; Spotify: &lt;a href="https://spoti.fi/2nEwCF8"&gt;https://spoti.fi/2nEwCF8&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt; &amp;#8211; RSS: &lt;a href="https://lexfridman.com/feed/podcast/"&gt;https://lexfridman.com/feed/podcast/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt; &amp;#8211; Podcast Playlist: &lt;a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrAXtmErZgOdP_8GztsuKi9nrraNbKKp4"&gt;https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrAXtmErZgOdP_8GztsuKi9nrraNbKKp4&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt; &amp;#8211; Clips Channel: &lt;a href="https://www.youtube.com/lexclips"&gt;https://www.youtube.com/lexclips&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt; </description>

Lex Fridman Podcast

Lex Fridman

#484 – Dan Houser: GTA, Red Dead Redemption, Rockstar, Absurd & Future of Gaming

OCT 31, 2025174 MIN
Lex Fridman Podcast

#484 – Dan Houser: GTA, Red Dead Redemption, Rockstar, Absurd & Future of Gaming

OCT 31, 2025174 MIN

Description

<p>Dan Houser is co-founder of Rockstar Games and is a legendary creative mind behind Grand Theft Auto (GTA) and Red Dead Redemption series of video games.<br /> Thank you for listening ❤ Check out our sponsors: <a href="https://lexfridman.com/sponsors/ep484-sc">https://lexfridman.com/sponsors/ep484-sc</a><br /> See below for timestamps, transcript, and to give feedback, submit questions, contact Lex, etc.</p> <p><b>Transcript:</b><br /> <a href="https://lexfridman.com/dan-houser-transcript">https://lexfridman.com/dan-houser-transcript</a></p> <p><b>CONTACT LEX:</b><br /> <b>Feedback</b> &#8211; give feedback to Lex: <a href="https://lexfridman.com/survey">https://lexfridman.com/survey</a><br /> <b>AMA</b> &#8211; submit questions, videos or call-in: <a href="https://lexfridman.com/ama">https://lexfridman.com/ama</a><br /> <b>Hiring</b> &#8211; join our team: <a href="https://lexfridman.com/hiring">https://lexfridman.com/hiring</a><br /> <b>Other</b> &#8211; other ways to get in touch: <a href="https://lexfridman.com/contact">https://lexfridman.com/contact</a></p> <p><b>EPISODE LINKS:</b><br /> Absurd Adventures: <a href="https://absurdventures.com">https://absurdventures.com</a><br /> A Better Paradise: <a href="https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0FCYSK8VD">https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0FCYSK8VD</a><br /> American Caper: <a href="https://absurdventures.com/americancaper">https://absurdventures.com/americancaper</a></p> <p><b>SPONSORS:</b><br /> To support this podcast, check out our sponsors &amp; get discounts:<br /> <b>Box:</b> Intelligent content management platform.<br /> Go to <a href="https://lexfridman.com/s/box-ep484-sc">https://box.com/ai</a><br /> <b>UPLIFT Desk:</b> Standing desks and office ergonomics.<br /> Go to <a href="https://lexfridman.com/s/uplift_desk-ep484-sc">https://upliftdesk.com/lex</a><br /> <b>CodeRabbit:</b> AI-powered code reviews.<br /> Go to <a href="https://lexfridman.com/s/coderabbit-ep484-sc">https://coderabbit.ai/lex</a><br /> <b>Miro:</b> Online collaborative whiteboard platform.<br /> Go to <a href="https://lexfridman.com/s/miro-ep484-sc">https://miro.com/</a><br /> <b>Lindy:</b> No-code AI agent builder.<br /> Go to <a href="https://lexfridman.com/s/lindy-ep484-sc">https://go.lindy.ai/lex</a><br /> <b>Shopify:</b> Sell stuff online.<br /> Go to <a href="https://lexfridman.com/s/shopify-ep484-sc">https://shopify.com/lex</a><br /> <b>LMNT:</b> Zero-sugar electrolyte drink mix.<br /> Go to <a href="https://lexfridman.com/s/lmnt-ep484-sc">https://drinkLMNT.com/lex</a></p> <p><b>OUTLINE:</b><br /> (00:00) &#8211; Introduction<br /> (01:29) &#8211; Sponsors, Comments, and Reflections<br /> (11:32) &#8211; Greatest films of all time<br /> (23:45) &#8211; Making video games<br /> (26:36) &#8211; GTA 3<br /> (29:55) &#8211; Open world video games<br /> (32:42) &#8211; Character creation<br /> (36:09) &#8211; Superintelligent AI in A Better Paradise<br /> (45:21) &#8211; Can LLMs write video games?<br /> (49:41) &#8211; Creating GTA 4 and GTA 5<br /> (1:01:16) &#8211; Hard work and Rockstar&#8217;s culture of excellence<br /> (1:04:56) &#8211; GTA 6<br /> (1:21:46) &#8211; Red Dead Redemption 2<br /> (2:01:39) &#8211; DLCs for GTA and Red Dead Redemption<br /> (2:07:58) &#8211; Leaving Rockstar Games<br /> (2:17:22) &#8211; Greatest game of all time<br /> (2:22:10) &#8211; Life lessons from father<br /> (2:24:29) &#8211; Mortality<br /> (2:41:47) &#8211; Advice for young people<br /> (2:47:49) &#8211; Future of video games</p> <p><b>PODCAST LINKS:</b><br /> &#8211; Podcast Website: <a href="https://lexfridman.com/podcast">https://lexfridman.com/podcast</a><br /> &#8211; Apple Podcasts: <a href="https://apple.co/2lwqZIr">https://apple.co/2lwqZIr</a><br /> &#8211; Spotify: <a href="https://spoti.fi/2nEwCF8">https://spoti.fi/2nEwCF8</a><br /> &#8211; RSS: <a href="https://lexfridman.com/feed/podcast/">https://lexfridman.com/feed/podcast/</a><br /> &#8211; Podcast Playlist: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrAXtmErZgOdP_8GztsuKi9nrraNbKKp4">https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrAXtmErZgOdP_8GztsuKi9nrraNbKKp4</a><br /> &#8211; Clips Channel: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/lexclips">https://www.youtube.com/lexclips</a></p>