Absurd Ventures Announces First Voice Castings for the Absurdaverse: Animated Shorts and AAA Open World Game in Development

Rockstar Games co-founder Dan Houser has unveiled the first round of voice castings for his upcoming TV and video game franchise, “Absurdaverse,” ahead of formally revealing a first look at the project next month at the Netflix Is A Joke Festival.

The interconnected comedy satire universe, which includes an untitled animated series and an untitled original AAA story-driven open world video game project currently in development, will star Rachel Dratch, Dan Soder, Ari Matti, Annie Lederman, Yamaneika Saunders and Steph Tolev across several projects.

Described as an “interconnected comedy satire universe with an untitled animated series and an untitled original AAA story-driven open world video game project currently in development,” the “Absurdaverse” will feature additional actors in the future, as the project is expected to boast a “cast of hundreds” for the animated series and video game components.

The first animated shorts from the Absurdaverse will be screened at an exclusive live comedy event as part of the Netflix Is A Joke Festival in Los Angeles on May 7 at The Hollywood Improv.

Absurd Ventures, the entertainment company founded by Dan Houser in February 2021, announced the casting news on April 21, 2026. The company, headquartered in Santa Monica, California, with an additional studio in San Rafael, California, aims to create new intellectual properties across various mediums, including video games, live-action and animated television, film, fiction podcasts, books, and comic books.

Several former Rockstar Games employees have joined Absurd Ventures, including marketing executive Adam Tedman in 2022, producer Lazlow Jones in June 2023, and writer Michael Unsworth in October 2023. Wendy Smith, formerly of Creative Artists Agency, joined the company as chief operating officer in November 2023. Pandemic Studios co-founder Greg Borrud serves as the company’s head of games.

In June 2024, Absurd Ventures partnered with QCode to release “A Better Paradise Volume One: An Aftermath,” an audio fiction series exploring themes of artificial intelligence and virtual reality.

Games written and creatively led by Dan Houser include record-breaking titles in the Grand Theft Auto and Red Dead Redemption series, which have sold hundreds of millions of copies and are among the top 5 bestselling video games of all time.

The Absurdaverse was initially announced in 2025 as a wholly original comedy-satire universe created and scripted by Houser and Lazlow, his longtime writing partner.