Smilegate Signs Agreement To Publish AAA-Grade SF Action Adventure Game With Upside Ventures Founded By GTA Franchise Director Dan Hauser
Aug 07, 2025
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Smilegate announced on the 7th that it has signed a global publishing contract for new works by Studio Upside Ventures, founded by Dan Houser, creative director of the 'GTA' franchise.
As a result, it plans to introduce a triple A-class SF open world action adventure game to global markets based on the surreal 'A Better Paradise (hereinafter ABP') worldview developed by Upsud Ventures. Prior to this, Smilegate made a strategic investment in the company last year.
ABP is a vast worldview created by Dan Hauser. Dan Hauser is a co-founder of Rockstar Games and has been a creative director and senior writer for the GTA and the 'Red Dead Redemption' series. ABP's audio fiction series ranked No. 1 in the Apple Podcast Fiction category and won the 'Signal Award for Best Episodes of Scripted Fiction' at the Podcast Awards 2024 Signal Awards. ABP will also be published as a novel in October.
ABP games are currently in the early stages of development, and Dan Hauser is in charge of writing and development directions. The World Building and Creative Team, which includes Lazlow and Michael Unsworth, who have worked with Dan Hauser for a long time, are working together. Game development is led by Greg Borrud, a studio veteran developer at Upsud Ventures, who has previously served as Niantic's general manager and co-founded Pandemic Studios.
Upsud Ventures founder Dan Hauser and studio general developer Greg Bollard said they have built an elite development team within Upsud Ventures Studios for the ABP project. In particular, veteran developers from global leading game studios such as Bungie, Treyarch, Respawn, Insomniak, and Riot Games participated in the project, and they are key players who have led the development of top-notch action and adventure games such as 'Call of Duty', 'Destiny2', 'Valorant', 'Spider-Man2' and 'Hogwatt Legacy', according to the company.
Upside Ventures, which officially launched the development of a new triple A-class game based on its ambitious and creative vision with its top-notch development team, expects Smilegate's expertise and experience in the global game market to add strong synergy to the strategic publishing partnership. Smilegate also plans to make a full investment, including development costs, so that the new ABP project can be successful worldwide, following its equity investment in Upside Ventures last year.
Smilegate Sung Jun-ho, Group CEO, "We are very excited to take on a new challenge in the global AAA gaming market with Dan Hauser and Upside Ventures. I am confident that the combination of the solid storytelling of ABP's worldview and the outstanding development capabilities of Upside Ventures will create a great work""Smilegate is a developer-centered DNA company that understands what developers need better than anyone else. We will actively support the success of the ABP project through partnerships between the two companies and do our best to create new works loved by players around the world."
Dan Hauser, founder of Upsud Ventures"Upsud Ventures was founded to create an exciting and immersive original experience, showcasing a new way of telling stories. "This game is an opportunity to move into a completely different world and bring users new adventures that they have never experienced before. Above all, we are very excited to be on this journey with a great team gathered for a new challenge at Upside Ventures, and we are grateful to have partnered with Smilegate, who truly understands and fully supports our vision."
Kwon Hyuk-bin, CVO of Smilegate, said "It is very meaningful that we can share each other's vision through cooperation with my friend Dan Hauser, who has had a deep friendship through the common theme of game and future"We will present a new vision that will impress game fans around the world." he said.
Meanwhile, Upside Ventures is an entertainment company centered on storytelling, producing a variety of contents such as original video games, live-action and animation movies, TV, audio fiction, novels, and comics. The original IPs created by Dan Hauser's founder include ABP and other crime noir 'American Caper' and comedy satire 'Absurdaverse'. In 2025, a variety of new works are set to be released, including the 'American Caper' Graphic Novel series, ABP feature novels, and the Upservers animation project. It is headquartered in Santa Monica, California, and operates a separate studio in Marine.
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
