Dan Houser Reveals the Truth Behind Rockstars Canceled Spy Thriller, Agent

For many years, fans have held onto the hope that **Rockstar Games** would eventually release **Agent**—a spy action game that was intended to mark a new direction for the studio. However, after eleven years of silence, the project has been definitively shelved. Now, one of **Rockstar’s** co-founders, **Dan Houser**, has publicly explained for the first time why this decision was made.

In a nearly three-hour interview with podcaster **Lex Fridman**, Houser discussed one of **Rockstar’s** most enigmatic projects. He revealed that **Agent** underwent several reboots, yet none of the iterations achieved the level of success they aspired to.

Originally, **Agent** was envisioned as a spy thriller set in the 1970s against the backdrop of the Cold War. However, according to Houser, there were other concepts explored, including a modern version.

Houser himself questions whether it is possible to create a truly great open-world spy game. His remarks are particularly intriguing given that the genre is scarcely represented in the market, with the closest equivalent being the forthcoming **007 First Light** from **IO Interactive**. Yet, this project will not feature a full open world.

To recap, **Agent** was officially announced back in 2009 as a PlayStation 3 exclusive, but the project has not been shown since. In 2021, **Rockstar** completely removed all mentions of the game from its website.