During his speech at the Tribeca Festival, Houser was asked if there was a “wrong” way to play GTA. He replied that it doesn't matter whether the player completes the main storyline. The main thing is to enjoy the game.
Houser admitted that as a screenwriter, he would like players to get acquainted with the stories the team worked on for years. But he considers exploring the world, side activities, and experimenting with game mechanics no less valuable. That's why, since GTA III, Rockstar has been creating games that encourage freedom of action.
The former head of Rockstar stated:
The most exciting part of the game is not all this script that we write, but the systems that we create.
According to him, it is the ability to act spontaneously that makes players return to GTA and RDR years after their release. The real magic appears when the player himself begins to test the boundaries of the game world. Houser believes that this freedom has been Rockstar's main secret to success for over 20 years.