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Sam Houser

{{Short description|English video game producer (born 1971)}}

{{Distinguish|Sam Hauser}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2015}}

{{Infobox person

| name = Sam Houser

| image = Sam Houser at Rockstar Games.png

| caption = Houser in the mid-2010s

| birth_name = Samuel Houser

| birth_date = {{Birth month and age|1971|11}}

| birth_place = London, England

| occupation = Video game producer

| years_active = 1996–present

| spouse = Anouchka Houser

| children =

| mother = Geraldine Moffat

| family = Dan Houser (brother)

}}

Samuel Houser (born November 1971) is an English video game producer. He is a co-founder and the current president of Rockstar Games, and is one of the creative driving forces behind the Grand Theft Auto franchise, having been its producer since the third game. His brother Dan was Rockstar's vice president of creativity until 2020.

Early life

Samuel Houser was born in London in November 1971,{{cite web |url=http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/sam-houser-s-cv-in-his-own-words |title=Sam Houser's CV - in his own words | Games industry news | MCV |publisher=Mcvuk.com |access-date=7 May 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131106185745/http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/sam-houser-s-cv-in-his-own-words |archive-date=6 November 2013}}{{sfn|Kushner|2012|pp=105–106}} the son of actress Geraldine Moffat and solicitor Walter Houser. His younger brother, Dan Houser, co-founded Rockstar Games with him.{{cite news |last=Mckelvey |first=Ben |date=27 December 2012 |title=Meet The Brains Behind Grand Theft Auto |url=http://www.stuff.co.nz/technology/games/8122020/Meet-the-brains-behind-Grand-Theft-Auto |work=Stuff.co |access-date=2 April 2013 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130330085951/http://www.stuff.co.nz/technology/games/8122020/Meet-the-brains-behind-Grand-Theft-Auto |archive-date=30 March 2013}} He was educated at St Paul's School, the University of London, and the University of Cambridge.{{cite web |url=https://www.standard.co.uk/lifestyle/london-life/the-gamechangers-the-truth-behind-the-bbcs-new-grand-theft-auto-drama-starring-daniel-radcliffe-a2947986.html |title=The Gamechangers, BBC 2: The true story behind Daniel Radcliffe's new Grand Theft Auto drama |last=Wood |first=James |work=Evening Standard |date=16 September 2015 |accessdate=10 October 2024 }} He drew inspiration from crime films at an early age because his mother often appeared in that genre. As a child, The Getaway briefly inspired him to become a bank robber.{{sfn|Kushner|2012|p=6}} Games like Elite and Mr. Do! were his favourite games growing up, with the former allowing him to explore his "bad boy" side at an early age.{{sfn|Kushner|2012|pp=6–7}}

Career

Houser joined Bertelsmann Music Group in 1990, working in the company's post room. In 1994, he was named to BMG's new interactive entertainment division. By 1996, Houser became Head of Development at BMG Interactive.{{cite web |url=https://www.musicbusinessworldwide.com/was-this-the-biggest-mistake-in-the-history-of-the-music-business |title=Was this the biggest mistake in the history of the music business? - Music Business Worldwide |last=Ingham |first=Tim |date=11 November 2018 |website=Music Business Worldwide |access-date=27 February 2019 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190227021744/https://www.musicbusinessworldwide.com/was-this-the-biggest-mistake-in-the-history-of-the-music-business/ |archive-date=27 February 2019}}

Houser became a video producer for BMG Interactive after he and his father had lunch with the executive producer of the music label, who claimed that Houser had some good ideas.{{sfn|Kushner|2012|pp=10, 15}} After BMG partnered with a small CD ROM company, Houser transferred to the Interactive Publishing division of BMG in order to work closely with developing video games.{{sfn|Kushner|2012|p=17}}

Credited as executive producer, Houser is also the creator of several of the games in the Grand Theft Auto series with his brother Dan. On Grand Theft Auto III his responsibilities were, in his words, to be "militant on ensuring the game had a look, a sound, a story and a feel that worked".{{cite web | url = http://au.ign.com/articles/2001/09/10/rockstars-sam-houser-mouths-off | title = Rockstar's Sam Houser Mouths Off | author = IGN Staff | publisher = IGN | date = 10 September 2001 | access-date = 19 March 2013 | archive-date = 11 April 2013 | archive-url = https://archive.today/20130411030928/http://au.ign.com/articles/2001/09/10/rockstars-sam-houser-mouths-off | url-status = live }} His description of the series as a whole is that the three sixth-generation Grand Theft Auto games form a "trilogy, [featuring] our distorted look at the East Coast around the time of the millennium (Grand Theft Auto III), followed by our reinterpretation of '80s Miami (Vice City), and lastly, our look at early-'90s California (San Andreas)".{{cite web | url = http://www.1up.com/features/sam-houser-interview | title = Sam Houser Interview | publisher = 1UP.com | access-date = 19 March 2013 | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160305021114/http://www.1up.com/features/sam-houser-interview | archive-date = 5 March 2016}}

Despite their status as the creators of Grand Theft Auto, one of the most successful video game franchises of all time, Houser and his brother both prefer to avoid the media spotlight and instead focus on the Rockstar Games brand rather than any one person getting the credit for the games' success.{{cite web | url = http://thegamershub.net/2012/05/gaming-gods-dan-and-sam-houser/ | title = Gaming Gods: Dan and Sam Houser | author = Ryan P. | publisher = The Gamer's Hub | date = 18 May 2012 | access-date = 19 March 2013 | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120520211124/http://thegamershub.net/2012/05/gaming-gods-dan-and-sam-houser/ | archive-date = 20 May 2012}} In 2009, both brothers appeared in Time magazine's 100 most influential people of 2009 list.{{cite news | url = http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1894410_1893836_1894428,00.html | title = Sam and Dan Houser - The 2009 TIME 100 | author = Selman, Matt | publisher = Time Magazine | date = 30 April 2009 | access-date = 19 March 2013 | archive-date = 26 August 2013 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130826201022/http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1894410_1893836_1894428,00.html | url-status = dead }} Houser also produced Max Payne 3 and Grand Theft Auto V.{{cite web |url=https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/rockstar-games-co-founder-dan-houser-to-leave-gta-studio/ |title=Rockstar Games co-founder Dan Houser to leave GTA studio |last=Robinson |first=Andy |date=4 February 2020 |website=Video Games Chronicle |access-date=4 February 2020 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200425093823/https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/rockstar-games-co-founder-dan-houser-to-leave-gta-studio/ |archive-date=25 April 2020}}

Houser was inducted into the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences' Hall of Fame in 2014.{{cite web|title=D.I.C.E Special Awards|url=http://www.interactive.org/special_awards/details.asp?idSpecialAwards=31|access-date=22 January 2017|archive-date=30 November 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181130123309/https://www.interactive.org/special_awards/details.asp?idSpecialAwards=31|url-status=live}} He was portrayed by Daniel Radcliffe in the 2015 television film The Gamechangers.{{cite web |url=https://www.ign.com/articles/2015/05/21/rockstar-games-files-lawsuit-against-the-bbc |title=Rockstar Games Files Lawsuit Against the BBC |last=Krupa |first=Daniel |date=21 May 2015 |website=IGN |access-date=21 May 2015 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150521200740/https://www.ign.com/articles/2015/05/21/rockstar-games-files-lawsuit-against-the-bbc |archive-date=21 May 2015}}

Personal life

Houser and his wife Anouchka married by 2005 and had children.{{cite web |url=http://www.playboy.com/playground/view/grand-theft-auto-sam-houser-interview?page=3 |title=Criminal Mind |page=3 |last=Goldberg |first=Harold |work=Playboy |date=15 November 2013 |accessdate=7 February 2025 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20131118231710/http://www.playboy.com/playground/view/grand-theft-auto-sam-houser-interview?page=3 |archivedate=18 November 2013 }} Houser holds both British and American citizenship, having acquired the latter in 2007.{{cite web |url=http://www.1up.com/features/sweet-land-liberty |title=GTA4: Sweet Land of Liberty from |last=Boyer |first=Crispin |date=29 April 2008 |website=1UP.com |access-date=7 May 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130228164032/http://www.1up.com/features/sweet-land-liberty |archive-date=28 February 2013}}{{cite web |url=http://retroroundup.1up.com/features/sam-houser-speaks?pager.offset=2 |title=GTA4 Sam Houser Interview from 1UP.com |last=Boyer |first=Crispin |date=29 April 2008 |website=Retroroundup.1up.com |access-date=7 May 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402173749/http://retroroundup.1up.com/features/sam-houser-speaks?pager.offset=2 |archive-date=2 April 2015}} He lives in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. As of 2016, Houser and his wife were directors of the Houser Foundation Inc. in New York, alongside Dan and his wife Krystyna.{{cite book |title=The Foundation Directory Part 2 |page=878 |edition=25th |date=2016 |publisher=Foundation Center |isbn=978-1-59542-521-8 }}

Works

=Executive producer=

=Voice actor=

References

{{Reflist}}

Bibliography

  • {{cite book |last=Kushner |first=David |year=2012 |title=Jacked: The Outlaw Story of Grand Theft Auto |location=Haboken, New Jersey |publisher=John Wiley & Sons, Inc. |isbn=978-0-470-93637-5}}

External links

  • {{IMDb name|0396759}}

{{Rockstar Games}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Houser, Sam}}

Category:1971 births

Category:Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences Hall of Fame inductees

Category:Alumni of the University of Cambridge

Category:BAFTA winners (people)

Category:English emigrants to the United States

Category:Living people

Category:People educated at St Paul's School, London

Category:Rockstar Games

Category:Video game producers