The first animated shorts will be unveiled and screened at an exclusive live comedy event as part of the Netflix Is A Joke Festival in Los Angeles on May 7 at The Hollywood Improv.

With a cast of hundreds expected across the animated series and video game projects, Absurd Ventures has revealed the first slate of names attached to the ABSURDAVERSE, which leans heavily into comedy veterans and standup stars. Appearing as voice talent across some of the ABSURDAVERSE projects in development are Rachel Dratch, Dan Soder, Ari Matti, Annie Lederman, Yamaneika Saunders, and Steph Tolev, with many more to be confirmed in the future.

Initially announced in 2025, the ABSURDAVERSE is a wholly original comedy-satire universe created and scripted by Houser and Lazlow, his longtime writing partner. Games written and creatively led by Houser include record-breaking titles in the Grand Theft Auto and Red Dead Redemption series, which have sold hundreds of millions of copies and are among the top 5 bestselling video games of all time. These story-driven titles are known for their sprawling and immersively detailed worlds, which featured hours of satirical animated TV shows and cartoons including beloved GTA fan favorites like Princess Robot Bubblegum, Kung Fu Rainbow Laser Force, Republican Space Rangers, and The Loneliest Robot in Great Britain.

"Since our earliest days working together, Dan and I have approached storytelling with an emphasis on comedy, satire and creating immersive media universes – whether through in-world radio, animated TV shows, comedy clubs you could visit, and more,” said Lazlow. “We always loved making those animated shows, starting with GTA4 and expanding through all the games that followed. The ABSURDAVERSE is our evolution of that tradition, partnering with comedians to bring these ridiculous characters to life with stories that will cross over between animation and open-world games."

“For many years, Lazlow and I have collaborated to give form to all sorts of characters that have inhabited our worlds,” said Dan Houser. “I look forward to introducing some of our newest group of maniacs from our next universe in this first set of animated shorts. We are proud to partner with the Netflix Is A Joke Festival to present this first look."

Absurd Ventures will screen a very first look at animated short subjects at an exclusive live comedy event called “ABSURDAVERSE Presents…” as part of the Netflix Is A Joke Festival in Los Angeles on Thursday, May 7, at The Hollywood Improv in Los Angeles. In these original shorts, eventgoers will be introduced to an ensemble of eclectic and unhinged characters, including a Chief People Officer who treats his job like a DJ residency (voiced by Dan Soder), a chain-smoking sovereign citizen podcaster (voiced by Rachel Dratch), an insane MMA fighter (voiced by up-and-coming comedian Samantha Alton), and more. The event will feature live standup from Patton Oswalt and ABSURDAVERSE cast members Dan Soder, Ari Matti, Yamaneika Saunders, Steph Tolev, and host Annie Lederman. Limited tickets are now available for purchase online.

The ABSURDAVERSE animated shorts are produced by Dave Newberg (#1 Happy Family USA), with character designs by Kendra Melton (Rick & Morty, The Venture Bros) and animation via Cutting Class Media. The untitled animated series and AAA open-world action-adventure game are currently in development, with further details on release windows and platform partnerships to be shared at a later date.