The trailer for Join Us first appeared during the Xbox Showcase in June, offering a glimpse of a darkly humorous co‑op cult simulation where robed followers ride pigs, fire machine guns, and eventually confront colossal, Cthulhu‑like tentacles. One of the most memorable moments that didn’t make the final cut was the appearance of a snake‑shooting weapon, a quirky addition that originated from a simple conversation.
Joe Dietsch, the chief executive officer and creative director of Wolf Haus Games, recounts how a team member’s child asked, “Can there be a snake gun?” Using an internal tool that allowed rapid weapon prototyping, Dietsch spent roughly thirty minutes building a gun that launches serpents. The child was thrilled, and the weapon remains in the final product, exemplifying the studio’s playful, experimental ethos. Join Us is an open‑world sandbox survival game that lets players recruit followers—or invite friends in co‑op mode—to join a 1970s‑style cult.
The chaotic, over‑the‑top gameplay described above is only one facet of the experience; the other is the studio’s decidedly tech‑first approach. Michael Abbott, the chief operating officer, explains that the team set out to be "disruptors," aiming to prove that a high‑fidelity, large‑scale title could be built by a dozen developers instead of a sprawling department.
"Everyone told us it was impossible," Abbott says, "but we came from indie film backgrounds where we routinely punched far above our weight." After 80 pitches, the studio finally secured equity funding from Krafton and Lifelike Capital, both of which took stakes in Wolf Haus. The founders bring deep Hollywood connections to the table.
Dietsch studied film at Chapman University alongside Louie Gibson, the son of Mel Gibson, and the two 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, a production company originally founded by Chris Roberts before his transition to the Star Citizen universe.
Abbott later produced movies such as Fight for ’84, starring Jamie Foxx. These film industry roots informed the studio’s narrative sensibility and its willingness to take creative risks. The genesis of Join Us traces back to Dietsch tinkering with Unreal Engine. "Unreal was free to download, and I felt there was an enormous barrier to entry for making games," he says.
He taught himself the engine through YouTube tutorials, eventually crafting a handful of small prototypes. The concept that persisted was a doomsday cult simulator that blended survival mechanics with grindhouse cinema aesthetics—essentially a mash‑up of his favorite film and game tropes. He built a proof‑of‑concept demo, expecting it to hit a technical wall quickly. When he showed the demo to Abbott, Abbott immediately recognized its potential and presented it to Dooma, a partner studio.
Dooma Wendschuh, the studio’s chief financial officer and narrative director, entered the picture after a varied career that spanned film production, screenwriting, and video‑game narrative work. He founded Sekretagent Productions, providing story services for titles such as Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones, Assassin’s Creed, and Batman: Arkham Origins.
Later, he built several tech ventures, most notably the cannabis formulation company Ebbu, which sold for roughly C$430 million (US$330 million). After a brief retirement on a remote Canadian island, a call from his old Hollywood‑hill roommate Michael Abbott pulled him back into the industry. Impressed by Dietsch’s demo, Wendschuh helped secure strategic advisory support from Reid Schneider, a former Warner Bros.
Games vice president now heading Raccoon Logic, and recruited Pierre‑Olivier Chartrand, a former Ubisoft Montreal programmer, as chief technology officer. Funding proved to be the next major hurdle. The team began pitching in the summer of 2023, a period marked by a broader industry downturn. Initial outreach generated interest but not capital.
After enlisting Creative Artists Agency (CAA) as representation, the studio re‑pitched in 2024 and eventually closed a seed round with Lifelike Capital and Krafton. Wendschuh credits the CAA connection—whose roster includes titles like 007: First Light—and the presence of veteran game industry advisors for smoothing the path. Despite the high ambitions, the studio remains lean, employing only 13 full‑time staff members. Dietsch emphasizes that the small size is intentional: "We wanted a team where everyone has a voice, where each person can touch the creative process, and where the final product feels like it was made by a tight‑knit group rather than a faceless corporation." To make such a scope feasible, the early development phase focused heavily on building robust, scalable tools.
"Any system in the game must be debuggable and extendable by a single developer," Dietsch explains. The first year was therefore split between ideating gameplay and constructing the underlying toolchain that would allow the open‑world map to expand without collapsing under its own weight. The equity funding model gave Wolf Haus the runway needed to perfect these tools.
Both Krafton and Lifelike Capital invested directly into the studio, allowing the game to be essentially self‑funded during development. While a modest amount of project finance is now being allocated for marketing, the core development costs have been covered by the equity partners.
This arrangement aligns investor incentives with the studio’s goal of building long‑term enterprise value, encouraging the team to invest time in bespoke tools rather than relying on off‑the‑shelf shortcuts. One area where many indie studios are turning to automation is generative AI, but Wolf Haus has deliberately avoided it for creative work. Dietsch states plainly, "We don’t use any generative AI in the development of the game. The human touch is essential to us." Wendschuh adds that the studio only uses AI for administrative tasks like calendar management and email drafting.
Interestingly, Krafton, which has publicly branded itself as an "AI‑first" company, specifically required that Wolf Haus not employ generative AI for creative production as a condition of their investment. This stance mirrors that of Neon Giant, another Krafton‑owned studio that publicly distanced itself from AI‑driven content creation.
The commitment to handcrafted content extends to the game’s world and audio. The six‑kilometre‑square map is entirely hand‑built, and the 15,000 voice lines were recorded by human actors, not synthetic voices. Dietsch believes this level of artisanal effort is crucial, even for a modestly sized indie title, because it preserves the authenticity and emotional resonance that AI‑generated assets often lack. Dietsch also reflects on the differences between filmmaking and game development.
In film, an idea can take years to materialise, requiring countless approvals, casting decisions, and studio greenlights before a single frame is shot. By contrast, a game concept can be prototyped within hours: "You can have an idea in the morning, drop it into the engine, and see it instantly. That immediacy is exhilarating." Wendschuh notes that while film production is heavily front‑loaded—requiring high‑profile talent to secure financing—games have a lower barrier to entry.
Anyone can rent a camera and shoot a backyard movie, but without distribution and star power, success is unlikely. Games, however, have fewer gatekeepers; a small team can reach a global audience without A‑list actors or directors.
Both founders agree that the core creative impulse remains the same across mediums: to craft experiences, tell stories, and engage audiences. Dietsch recalls that as a six‑year‑old he wanted to make either movies or games, and a coin toss decided his path. He learned programming on a TI‑83 calculator, a skill that later proved invaluable in game development. Ultimately, whether through film or interactive media, the goal is to deliver an immersive narrative that resonates with players and viewers alike.