You may remember that the trailer for Join Us premiered during the Xbox Showcase in June. The clip introduced a darkly humorous cooperative cult simulator where robed followers zip around on pigs, fire machine guns, and conclude with a shot of massive, Cthulhu‑like tentacles. What didn’t make the cut, according to Joe Dietsch—CEO and creative director of Wolf Haus Games, the studio behind Join Us—was the infamous snake gun. "One of the developer’s kids came up with the idea and asked, ‘What if there’s a snake gun?’ We had a rapid‑prototyping tool for weapons, so within about thirty minutes I built a gun that actually fires snakes.
The kid was blown away, and we kept the weapon in the final build," Dietsch recalls. That anecdote captures the chaotic, over‑the‑top gameplay that Join Us promises: an open‑world sandbox survival experience where players can recruit followers—or invite friends in co‑op—to join a 1970s‑style cult. It also highlights the studio’s technology‑first mindset, which has allowed a small crew to produce a high‑fidelity title that would normally require a much larger staff.
"We set out to be disruptors," says Michael Abbott, Wolf Haus’s chief operating officer. "We told everyone, ‘We don’t need a hundred people; twelve is enough.’ Most people laughed, but we proved them wrong." The team’s confidence stems from a history of achieving big results on modest budgets. Abbott notes, "Our roots are in indie film, where we constantly punch above our weight." After 80 pitches, Wolf Haus finally secured equity financing from Krafton and Lifelike Capital, both of which took stakes in the company. The founders’ Hollywood pedigree runs deep.
Dietsch studied film at Chapman University alongside Louie Gibson—son of Mel Gibson—and the two later co‑wrote and co‑directed the indie features Happy Hunting and Manifest West. Abbott is the son of veteran makeup artist Larry Abbott and helped launch Ascendant Pictures, the production company founded by Chris Roberts before he moved on to Star Citizen.
Abbott later produced movies such as Fight for ’84 starring Jamie Foxx. Join Us originated when Dietsch began tinkering in Unreal Engine.
"Unreal was free to download, and I’d always loved games, but the barrier to actually making one felt huge. I started learning from YouTube tutorials and built a few tiny prototypes," he explains. Even without prior development experience, he managed to ship a couple of small games before deciding to tackle something larger.
"The idea of a doomsday cult simulator kept coming back to me because it merged my love of survival mechanics with grindhouse cinema—essentially blending my favorite movie and game tropes into a single IP." He created a proof‑of‑concept demo and showed it to Abbott, who then presented it to Dooma. Dooma’s CFO and narrative director, Dooma Wendschuh, began his career as a film producer and screenwriter before moving into games in the early 2000s, founding Sekretagent Productions, which contributed writing to titles like Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones, Assassin’s Creed, and Batman: Arkham Origins. Later, he launched several tech ventures, including the cannabis formulation firm Ebbu, sold for C$430 million.
After selling Ebbu, Wendschuh bought a remote island restaurant in Canada, intending to retire. "I thought I’d just relax, walk my dog, and enjoy the beach," he says. Yet, in true Hollywood fashion, a call from his old roommate Michael Abbott pulled him back. "I was shown a video game prototype that completely blew my mind, so I came out of retirement to help." Wendschuh brought the project to Reid Schneider, a former Warner Bros.
Games VP now heading Raccoon Logic, the makers of Journey to the Savage Planet. Schneider joined as a strategic advisor and recruited Pierre‑Olivier Chartrand, a former Ubisoft Montreal programmer, as chief technology officer. With the core team in place, the next hurdle was funding—an especially tough task during the industry downturn of mid‑2023.
"People liked what we were building but the market was cold," Dietsch notes. The studio enlisted CAA in Los Angeles, re‑pitched throughout 2024, and eventually closed a seed round with Lifelike Capital and Krafton.
Wendschuh believes the CAA connection, along with veteran advisers like Schneider and Chartrand, was crucial. "My agent Derek Douglas had represented me for twelve years in games and previously headed the video‑game department at William Morris," he says. Despite the high ambitions, Join Us is being built by just 13 full‑time staff. "From day one we understood the scope and deliberately kept the team small so everyone could have a voice and touch the creative process," Dietsch explains.
To make a large‑scale open world feasible for such a lean crew, the studio invested heavily in custom tools early on. "Every system must be scalable and debuggable by a single person. We built a toolkit that lets us expand features across the map without the project collapsing under its own weight.
The first year was as much about tool development as it was about game design." The equity financing model gave Wolf Haus the runway to perfect those tools. "Krafton and Lifelike’s investment funds the entire development; we’re essentially self‑funded. We’re now adding a modest amount of project finance for marketing, but the core game was built with their equity capital," Wendschuh clarifies.
"Because our investors share our long‑term vision, they encourage us to keep building tools rather than cutting corners." When asked about generative AI, Dietsch is unequivocal: the studio does not use it for creative work. "We believe a human touch is essential. Turning development over to an AI would defeat why we love making games," he says. Wendschuh adds, "We only use AI for mundane tasks like calendar management and email replies, never for art, design, or writing." Krafton, despite branding itself as an "AI‑first" company, explicitly required Wolf Haus to avoid generative AI in the creative pipeline.
This mirrors a similar stance taken by Neon Giant, another Krafton‑owned studio, which publicly distanced itself from the parent’s AI push. Both Wendschuh and Dietsch stress that the decision is about preserving jobs and artistic integrity. "We don’t want AI to replace voice actors or artists," Wendschuh says.
"All 15,000 voice lines in Join Us were recorded by human talent, and the six‑kilometre‑square map was handcrafted." Dietsch also reflects on the contrast between film and games. In cinema, an idea can take years to materialise, requiring countless approvals and the involvement of high‑profile talent. In games, an inspiration can be prototyped in a single morning, instantly visible in the engine. "That immediacy is exhilarating," he notes.
Wendschuh points out that while filmmaking is front‑loaded with expensive talent acquisition and studio green‑lights, games have far fewer gatekeepers. "You don’t need an A‑list actor or director to launch a successful title; the barrier to entry is much lower," he explains.
Ultimately, both mediums share the same creative drive: to craft an experience, tell a story, and engage an audience. "Whether you’re making a movie or a game, you’re delivering an experience.
The tools differ, but the core impulse is identical," Dietsch concludes.