Source: Smilegate

Smilegate announced on the 15th that it participated as an official panelist at the 'Luminaries: Dan Houser's Absurd Ventures' special session during the Tribeca Festival 2026 Storytelling Summit, held in New York on the 13rd (local time), to discuss its global creative partnership with Dan Houser.

The Tribeca Festival is a world-renowned storytelling event that encompasses film, TV, music, games, and immersive content. For this year's 25th-anniversary special session, Dan Houser, best known as a key creator of the Grand Theft Auto (GTA) and Red Dead Redemption series, and his longtime partner Lazlow, held a discussion on world-building and the evolution of storytelling beyond video games.

Absurd Ventures, founded by Dan Houser, creates original IP and expands it across various media, including audio fiction, games, comics, books, and film. Key partners in the book and comics sectors, along with Smilegate, joined the stage for the event.

Smilegate participated in the special session as Absurd Ventures' gaming partner. Lee Jae, a director responsible for discovering and managing global partnerships at Smilegate, took the stage to share the company's perspective on new IP, its role as a strategic investor and global publisher, and its transmedia strategy. Through this appearance, Director Lee heightened expectations for the achievements to be realized through the collaboration with Absurd Ventures.

Last year, Smilegate signed a global publishing agreement for a AAA open world action adventure game based on the 'A Better Paradise' universe, an original IP from Absurd Ventures.

Director Lee Jae stated that it was a meaningful opportunity to share a vision for collaboration on the same stage as Dan Houser and Absurd Ventures, who have created globally beloved IP, adding that he is pleased to be part of a significant challenge to cultivate bold and original stories on the global stage. He further emphasized that Smilegate will go beyond being a mere publishing partner to act as a companion that shares a creative vision, doing its utmost to ensure that 'A Better Paradise' becomes a game loved by fans worldwide.