Smilegate to publish Absurd Ventures’ AAA open-world A Better Paradise game

Smilegate has signed an agreement with Dan Houser’s Absurd Ventures to globally publish the upcoming AAA open-world science-fiction action adventure game set in the A Better Paradise storytelling universe, the company announced.

The partnership follows Smilegate’s strategic investment in Absurd Ventures announced in 2024.

Here is an overview of the universe and game project, via Smilegate:

A Better Paradise is an expansive universe created by Absurd Ventures, the company founded by Rockstar Games co-founder Dan Houser, the former creative director and lead writer of the Grand Theft Auto and Red Dead Redemption franchises, among others. Building on the studio’s talent for crafting incredible narrative worlds and characters, A Better Paradise has already spawned a hit audio fiction series, A Better Paradise Volume One: An Aftermath, which debuted at the top of Apple’s Fiction charts and won the 2024 Signal Award for Best Episode of Scripted Fiction. Absurd Ventures is also releasing a novelization of the first volume of A Better Paradise‘s story, due out in October 2025.

Currently in early development, the video game is being written and creative directed by Houser alongside his worldbuilding and creative team which includes longtime collaborators Lazlow and Michael Unsworth. The game’s development at Absurd Ventures is being led by veteran studio head Greg Borrud, who was previously general manager of Niantic and co-founder of Pandemic Studios. Houser and Borrud have been building an elite team at Absurd Ventures studios and the A Better Paradise game project boasts senior game development talent with previous experience from Bungie, Treyarch, Respawn Entertainment, Insomniac Games, Riot Games, and more, with lead credits on best-in-class action and adventure games such as Call of Duty, Destiny 2, VALORANT, Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, Hogwarts Legacy, and many others.

With a top-tier development team, Absurd is officially in development on this new AAA game, driven by an ambitious and exciting creative vision. The company expects Smilegate’s expertise and experience, as proven by its success in the global gaming industry, to bring strong synergy to their strategic publishing partnership. Following its equity investment in Absurd Ventures last year, Smilegate plans to make a full-scale investment, including development funding, into the A Better Paradise project to help ensure its global success.

“We are thrilled to take on this new challenge in the global AAA game market alongside Dan Houser and Absurd,” said Smilegate CEO Sung Joon-ho in a press release. “We are confident that the strong storytelling of the A Better Paradise universe combined with the development capabilities of the Absurd team will result in an outstanding title. We are a company with a developer-first DNA and truly understand what development studios need. Through our partnership with Absurd, we will fully support the A Better Paradise game project and do our utmost to help create a new title that will be loved by players around the world. Smilegate will leverage its extensive experience and success in global markets to ensure the A Better Paradise project becomes a beloved success worldwide.”

Absurd Ventures founder Dan Houser added, “Absurd Ventures was set up to tell new and different kinds of stories, and to create what I hope are interesting and compelling original experiences. This new game is an opportunity to go somewhere entirely different and to take players on an entirely new adventure. I am excited to be going on this journey with the amazing team that we are building here at Absurd Ventures and am grateful that we are partnering with Smilegate who really understand and support our vision.”

Smilegate chief visionary officer Kwon Hyuk-bin said, “Dan Houser and I have formed a deep friendship through our shared interest in games and the future, and I find it especially meaningful that we are now able to share our creative visions through this collaboration on the A Better Paradise project. We’re excited to present a title that reflects the vision we’ve often discussed—one that we hope will deeply resonate with gamers around the world.”

Further information the development schedule and platforms will be announced at a later date.