{"id":29622,"date":"2025-08-07T02:53:15","date_gmt":"2025-08-07T02:53:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hotelsalepage.com\/feed\/cision-pr-newswire\/smilegate-to-publish-absurd-ventures-aaa-open-world-game-set-in-the-a-better-paradise-universe\/"},"modified":"2025-08-07T02:53:15","modified_gmt":"2025-08-07T02:53:15","slug":"smilegate-to-publish-absurd-ventures-aaa-open-world-game-set-in-the-a-better-paradise-universe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thaipropertynews.com\/feeds\/?p=29622","title":{"rendered":"Smilegate to Publish Absurd Ventures&#8217; AAA Open-World Game Set in the A BETTER PARADISE Universe"},"content":{"rendered":"<table border=\"0\" cellspacing=\"10\" cellpadding=\"5\" align=\"right\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/mma.prnasia.com\/media2\/2041804\/Logo.jpg?p=medium600\" border=\"0\" alt=\"\" title=\"logo\" hspace=\"0\" vspace=\"0\" width=\"118\" \/><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<ul type=\"disc\">\n<li>Smilegate expands partnership with former GTA creative director <span class=\"xn-person\">Dan Houser<\/span> for global AAA publishing<\/li>\n<li>New game set in <i>A Better Paradise<\/i> universe in development, funded by Smilegate<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span class=\"legendSpanClass\"><span class=\"xn-location\">SANTA MONICA, Calif.<\/span> and <span class=\"xn-location\">SEOUL, South Korea<\/span><\/span>, <span class=\"legendSpanClass\"><span class=\"xn-chron\">Aug. 7, 2025<\/span><\/span> \/PRNewswire\/ &#8212;\u00a0Smilegate today announced that it has signed an agreement with <span class=\"xn-person\">Dan Houser&#8217;s<\/span> Absurd Ventures to globally publish the studio&#8217;s upcoming AAA, open-world, sci-fi action-adventure game, set in its mind-bending A BETTER PARADISE universe. The partnership follows Smilegate&#8217;s strategic investment in Absurd Ventures, announced last year.<\/p>\n<div class=\"PRN_ImbeddedAssetReference\">\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/mma.prnasia.com\/media2\/2745225\/Smilegate_Publish_Absurd_Ventures__AAA_Open_World_Game_Set_A_BETTER.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/mma.prnasia.com\/media2\/2745225\/Smilegate_Publish_Absurd_Ventures__AAA_Open_World_Game_Set_A_BETTER.jpg?p=medium600\" title=\"Smilegate to Publish Absurd Ventures\u2019 AAA Open-World Game Set in the A BETTER PARADISE Universe\" alt=\"Smilegate to Publish Absurd Ventures\u2019 AAA Open-World Game Set in the A BETTER PARADISE Universe\" \/><\/a><br \/><span>Smilegate to Publish Absurd Ventures\u2019 AAA Open-World Game Set in the A BETTER PARADISE Universe<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>A BETTER PARADISE is an expansive universe created by Absurd Ventures, the company founded by Rockstar Games co-founder <span class=\"xn-person\">Dan Houser<\/span>, the former creative director and lead writer of the GRAND THEFT AUTO and RED DEAD REDEMPTION franchises, among others. Building on the studio&#8217;s talent for crafting incredible narrative worlds and characters, A BETTER PARADISE has already spawned a hit audio fiction series, <i>A BETTER PARADISE Volume One: An Aftermath<\/i>, which debuted at the top of Apple&#8217;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&#8217;s story, due out in <span class=\"xn-chron\">October 2025<\/span>.<\/p>\n<p>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 <span class=\"xn-person\">Michael Unsworth<\/span>. The game&#8217;s development at Absurd Ventures is being led by veteran studio head <span class=\"xn-person\">Greg Borrud<\/span> 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, Insomniac, Riot, and more, with lead credits on best-in-class action and adventure games such as <i>Call of Duty<\/i>, <i>Destiny 2<\/i>, <i>Valorant<\/i>, <i>Spider-Man 2<\/i>, <i>Hogwarts Legacy<\/i>, and many others.<\/p>\n<p>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&#8217;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.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"xn-person\">Sung Joon<\/span>-ho, CEO of\u00a0Smilegate, said:<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;We are thrilled to take on this new challenge in the global AAA game market alongside <span class=\"xn-person\">Dan Houser<\/span> and Absurd. We are confident that the strong storytelling of the ABP 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,&#8221; he emphasized. &#8220;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 ABP project becomes a beloved success worldwide.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"xn-person\">Dan Houser<\/span>, founder of Absurd Ventures, stated:<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;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.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Kwon Hyuk-bin, Chief Visionary Officer of Smilegate, added:<br \/>&#8220;<span class=\"xn-person\">Dan Houser<\/span> 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,&#8221; he stated. &#8220;We&#8217;re excited to present a title that reflects the vision we&#8217;ve often discussed\u2014one that we hope will deeply resonate with gamers around the world.<\/p>\n<p>Through this joint project, Smilegate aims to grow beyond <span class=\"xn-location\">Asia<\/span> and become a major player in the global gaming industry.<\/p>\n<p>Absurd Ventures was advised by\u00a0Grubman Shire Meiselas &amp; Sacks, P.C. and Fenwick &amp; West LLP in connection with the transaction.\u00a0 Smilegate was advised by DLA Piper.<\/p>\n<p>Further details, including the development schedule and platforms, will be announced at a later date. To learn more about the A BETTER PARADISE universe, visit the\u00a0<u><a href=\"https:\/\/www.absurdventures.com\/abetterparadise\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">official website<\/a><\/u>, and follow along with the latest updates on <u><a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/absurdventures\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">X<\/a><\/u>, <u><a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/absurd.ventures\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">Instagram<\/a><\/u>, <a href=\"https:\/\/bsky.app\/profile\/absurdventures.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">Bluesky<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/@absurdventures\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">YouTube<\/a>, <u><a href=\"https:\/\/www.threads.com\/@absurd.ventures\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">Threads<\/a><\/u>, <u><a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/WeAreAbsurdVentures\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">Facebook<\/a><\/u>, and <u><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/@absurdventures\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">TikTok<\/a><\/u>.<\/p>\n<p><b>About Smilegate<\/b><\/p>\n<p>Smilegate is a global game development and publishing company headquartered in <span class=\"xn-location\">South Korea<\/span> with regional offices in <span class=\"xn-location\">the United States<\/span>, <span class=\"xn-location\">China<\/span>, and <span class=\"xn-location\">Japan<\/span>. Its flagship franchise &#8216;CROSSFIRE&#8217; is one of the largest and most successful franchises in gaming history. It has more than 1 billion registered users to date in PC and mobile platforms and over 8 million concurrent players globally. Its latest project, &#8216;Lost Ark,&#8217; is an MMORPG that was released in <span class=\"xn-location\">South Korea<\/span> in 2018 and was launched in <span class=\"xn-location\">North America<\/span> and <span class=\"xn-location\">Europe<\/span> in <span class=\"xn-chron\">February 2021<\/span>. Lost Ark recorded the number for concurrent players on Steam with over <span class=\"xn-money\">1.32M<\/span>. Learn more by visiting <a href=\"http:\/\/smilegate.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">Smilegate.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><b>About Absurd Ventures<\/b><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.absurdventures.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">Absurd Ventures<\/a>\u00a0is a storytelling-driven entertainment company creating original video games, live-action and animated film and television, audio fiction, books, comic books, and more. The company was founded by <span class=\"xn-person\">Dan Houser<\/span>, who was previously co-founder of Rockstar Games, and the lead creative force behind some of the most successful entertainment properties in history. Absurd Ventures&#8217; original IP, created by Houser, includes sci-fi-thriller universe <i>A Better Paradise<\/i>, crime-fiction universe <i>American Caper<\/i>, and comedy-satire universe <i>Absurdaverse<\/i>. Its debut project, an audio fiction series set in the <i>A Better Paradise<\/i> world, debuted as the #1 fiction podcast on Apple. In 2025, Absurd Ventures will release an <i>American Caper<\/i> comic book series, an <i>A Better Paradise <\/i>novel, <i>Absurdaverse<\/i> animation projects, and more. Absurd Ventures is headquartered in <span class=\"xn-location\">Santa Monica<\/span>, with additional studio offices in <span class=\"xn-location\">Marin, California<\/span>. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.absurdventures.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">Storytelling. Philanthropy. Ultraviolence.<\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"PRN_ImbeddedAssetReference\">\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p><!-- wp:html --><\/p>\n<table border=\"0\" cellspacing=\"10\" cellpadding=\"5\" align=\"right\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/mma.prnasia.com\/media2\/2041804\/Logo.jpg?p=medium600\" border=\"0\" alt=\"\" title=\"logo\" hspace=\"0\" vspace=\"0\" width=\"118\" \/><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<ul type=\"disc\">\n<li>Smilegate expands partnership with former GTA creative director <span class=\"xn-person\">Dan Houser<\/span> for global AAA publishing<\/li>\n<li>New game set in <i>A Better Paradise<\/i> universe in development, funded by Smilegate<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span class=\"legendSpanClass\"><span class=\"xn-location\">SANTA MONICA, Calif.<\/span> and <span class=\"xn-location\">SEOUL, South Korea<\/span><\/span>, <span class=\"legendSpanClass\"><span class=\"xn-chron\">Aug. 7, 2025<\/span><\/span> \/PRNewswire\/ &#8212;\u00a0Smilegate today announced that it has signed an agreement with <span class=\"xn-person\">Dan Houser&#8217;s<\/span> Absurd Ventures to globally publish the studio&#8217;s upcoming AAA, open-world, sci-fi action-adventure game, set in its mind-bending A BETTER PARADISE universe. The partnership follows Smilegate&#8217;s strategic investment in Absurd Ventures, announced last year.<\/p>\n<div class=\"PRN_ImbeddedAssetReference\">\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/mma.prnasia.com\/media2\/2745225\/Smilegate_Publish_Absurd_Ventures__AAA_Open_World_Game_Set_A_BETTER.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/mma.prnasia.com\/media2\/2745225\/Smilegate_Publish_Absurd_Ventures__AAA_Open_World_Game_Set_A_BETTER.jpg?p=medium600\" title=\"Smilegate to Publish Absurd Ventures\u2019 AAA Open-World Game Set in the A BETTER PARADISE Universe\" alt=\"Smilegate to Publish Absurd Ventures\u2019 AAA Open-World Game Set in the A BETTER PARADISE Universe\" \/><\/a><br \/><span>Smilegate to Publish Absurd Ventures\u2019 AAA Open-World Game Set in the A BETTER PARADISE Universe<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>A BETTER PARADISE is an expansive universe created by Absurd Ventures, the company founded by Rockstar Games co-founder <span class=\"xn-person\">Dan Houser<\/span>, the former creative director and lead writer of the GRAND THEFT AUTO and RED DEAD REDEMPTION franchises, among others. Building on the studio&#8217;s talent for crafting incredible narrative worlds and characters, A BETTER PARADISE has already spawned a hit audio fiction series, <i>A BETTER PARADISE Volume One: An Aftermath<\/i>, which debuted at the top of Apple&#8217;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&#8217;s story, due out in <span class=\"xn-chron\">October 2025<\/span>.<\/p>\n<p>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 <span class=\"xn-person\">Michael Unsworth<\/span>. The game&#8217;s development at Absurd Ventures is being led by veteran studio head <span class=\"xn-person\">Greg Borrud<\/span> 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, Insomniac, Riot, and more, with lead credits on best-in-class action and adventure games such as <i>Call of Duty<\/i>, <i>Destiny 2<\/i>, <i>Valorant<\/i>, <i>Spider-Man 2<\/i>, <i>Hogwarts Legacy<\/i>, and many others.<\/p>\n<p>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&#8217;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.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"xn-person\">Sung Joon<\/span>-ho, CEO of\u00a0Smilegate, said:<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;We are thrilled to take on this new challenge in the global AAA game market alongside <span class=\"xn-person\">Dan Houser<\/span> and Absurd. We are confident that the strong storytelling of the ABP 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,&#8221; he emphasized. &#8220;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 ABP project becomes a beloved success worldwide.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"xn-person\">Dan Houser<\/span>, founder of Absurd Ventures, stated:<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;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.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Kwon Hyuk-bin, Chief Visionary Officer of Smilegate, added:<br \/>&#8220;<span class=\"xn-person\">Dan Houser<\/span> 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,&#8221; he stated. &#8220;We&#8217;re excited to present a title that reflects the vision we&#8217;ve often discussed\u2014one that we hope will deeply resonate with gamers around the world.<\/p>\n<p>Through this joint project, Smilegate aims to grow beyond <span class=\"xn-location\">Asia<\/span> and become a major player in the global gaming industry.<\/p>\n<p>Absurd Ventures was advised by\u00a0Grubman Shire Meiselas &amp; Sacks, P.C. and Fenwick &amp; West LLP in connection with the transaction.\u00a0 Smilegate was advised by DLA Piper.<\/p>\n<p>Further details, including the development schedule and platforms, will be announced at a later date. To learn more about the A BETTER PARADISE universe, visit the\u00a0<u><a href=\"https:\/\/www.absurdventures.com\/abetterparadise\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">official website<\/a><\/u>, and follow along with the latest updates on <u><a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/absurdventures\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">X<\/a><\/u>, <u><a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/absurd.ventures\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">Instagram<\/a><\/u>, <a href=\"https:\/\/bsky.app\/profile\/absurdventures.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">Bluesky<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/@absurdventures\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">YouTube<\/a>, <u><a href=\"https:\/\/www.threads.com\/@absurd.ventures\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">Threads<\/a><\/u>, <u><a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/WeAreAbsurdVentures\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">Facebook<\/a><\/u>, and <u><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/@absurdventures\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">TikTok<\/a><\/u>.<\/p>\n<p><b>About Smilegate<\/b><\/p>\n<p>Smilegate is a global game development and publishing company headquartered in <span class=\"xn-location\">South Korea<\/span> with regional offices in <span class=\"xn-location\">the United States<\/span>, <span class=\"xn-location\">China<\/span>, and <span class=\"xn-location\">Japan<\/span>. Its flagship franchise &#8216;CROSSFIRE&#8217; is one of the largest and most successful franchises in gaming history. It has more than 1 billion registered users to date in PC and mobile platforms and over 8 million concurrent players globally. Its latest project, &#8216;Lost Ark,&#8217; is an MMORPG that was released in <span class=\"xn-location\">South Korea<\/span> in 2018 and was launched in <span class=\"xn-location\">North America<\/span> and <span class=\"xn-location\">Europe<\/span> in <span class=\"xn-chron\">February 2021<\/span>. Lost Ark recorded the number for concurrent players on Steam with over <span class=\"xn-money\">1.32M<\/span>. Learn more by visiting <a href=\"http:\/\/smilegate.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">Smilegate.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><b>About Absurd Ventures<\/b><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.absurdventures.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">Absurd Ventures<\/a>\u00a0is a storytelling-driven entertainment company creating original video games, live-action and animated film and television, audio fiction, books, comic books, and more. The company was founded by <span class=\"xn-person\">Dan Houser<\/span>, who was previously co-founder of Rockstar Games, and the lead creative force behind some of the most successful entertainment properties in history. Absurd Ventures&#8217; original IP, created by Houser, includes sci-fi-thriller universe <i>A Better Paradise<\/i>, crime-fiction universe <i>American Caper<\/i>, and comedy-satire universe <i>Absurdaverse<\/i>. Its debut project, an audio fiction series set in the <i>A Better Paradise<\/i> world, debuted as the #1 fiction podcast on Apple. In 2025, Absurd Ventures will release an <i>American Caper<\/i> comic book series, an <i>A Better Paradise <\/i>novel, <i>Absurdaverse<\/i> animation projects, and more. Absurd Ventures is headquartered in <span class=\"xn-location\">Santa Monica<\/span>, with additional studio offices in <span class=\"xn-location\">Marin, California<\/span>. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.absurdventures.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">Storytelling. Philanthropy. Ultraviolence.<\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"PRN_ImbeddedAssetReference\">\n<\/div>\n<p><!-- \/wp:html --><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":[],"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[5,7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-29622","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cision-pr-newswire","category-cision-pr-newswire-en"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thaipropertynews.com\/feeds\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29622","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thaipropertynews.com\/feeds\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thaipropertynews.com\/feeds\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thaipropertynews.com\/feeds\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thaipropertynews.com\/feeds\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=29622"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/thaipropertynews.com\/feeds\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29622\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thaipropertynews.com\/feeds\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=29622"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thaipropertynews.com\/feeds\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=29622"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thaipropertynews.com\/feeds\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=29622"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}