The buzz around Join Us first surged when its trailer appeared at the Xbox Showcase in June, offering a glimpse into a darkly humorous cooperative cult simulator. The teaser showed robed followers riding pigs, wielding machine guns, and culminated in a nightmarish vision of colossal, Cthulhu‑like tentacles. Yet one of the most memorable, albeit unseen, moments was the inclusion of a snake‑shooting weapon—a quirky idea that originated from a developer’s child.
Joe Dietsch, the CEO and creative director of Wolf Haus Games, recounted how a simple question from the youngster—"Can there be a snake gun?"—prompted the team to prototype a weapon that launches serpents in under an hour, thanks to a flexible in‑house toolset. That whimsical feature remains a staple of the final game.
Join Us is an open‑world sandbox survival experience where players can amass followers—or invite friends in co‑op mode—to build and manage a 1970s‑style cult. The game’s chaotic, over‑the‑top gameplay mirrors the studio’s own unconventional development philosophy.
Michael Abbott, Wolf Haus’s chief operating officer, summed up their ambition: they wanted to be disruptors who could deliver a high‑fidelity, large‑scale title with a fraction of the personnel typically required. "We told everyone we could do it with twelve people," Abbott said, "and they all thought we were crazy." Their confidence stems from a background in indie filmmaking, where small crews routinely punch well above their weight. After 80 pitches, the studio finally secured equity funding from Krafton and Lifelike Capital, both of which took stakes in Wolf Haus. The founding team’s Hollywood roots run deep.
Dietsch studied film at Chapman University alongside Louie Gibson, son of actor‑director 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, a production company founded by Chris Roberts before his transition to the Star Citizen universe. Abbott later produced films such as Fight for ’84, starring Jamie Foxx. This blend of cinematic experience and entrepreneurial grit shaped the studio’s approach to game development.
The genesis of Join Us can be traced back to Dietsch’s early experiments with Unreal Engine. "Unreal was free to download, and I’d always loved games but felt there was a massive barrier to creating something myself," he explained. He taught himself the engine through YouTube tutorials, eventually building a few small prototypes.
The concept that kept resurfacing was a doomsday cult simulator that fused survival mechanics with grindhouse cinema aesthetics—a hybrid that would become the core IP for Wolf Haus. Creating a proof‑of‑concept, Dietsch pushed the limits of his own technical abilities, anticipating that at some point a roadblock would force him to abandon the project. When he showed the demo to Abbott, the latter recognized its potential and took it to Dooma, a partner that helped refine the vision.
Meanwhile, Dooma’s CFO and narrative director, Dooma Wendschuh, brought a rich background in both film and gaming. He had produced and written for titles like Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones, Assassin’s Creed, and Batman: Arkham Origins through his company Sekretagent Productions.
In the 2010s, Wendschuh founded several tech ventures, most notably the cannabis formulation firm Ebbu, which sold for roughly C$430 million (US$330 million). After cashing out, he bought a remote island restaurant in Canada, intending to retire. A chance call from his old Hollywood Hills roommate, Michael Abbott, pulled him back into the industry, leading him to evaluate Dietsch’s demo and ultimately join the project.
Wendschuh recruited seasoned industry veterans to bolster the team. He brought on Reid Schneider, former vice‑president at Warner Bros. Games and now head of Raccoon Logic (the studio behind Journey to the Savage Planet), as a strategic advisor. Schneider, in turn, hired Pierre‑Olivier Chartrand, a former Ubisoft Montreal programmer, to serve as chief technology officer.
With this talent pool in place, the studio turned its focus to financing—a daunting task given the market downturn that began in 2023. Initial pitches received polite interest but no commitments. By partnering with Creative Artists Agency (CAA) and re‑pitching in 2024, Wolf Haus finally closed a seed round with Lifelike Capital and Krafton.
The involvement of CAA, which also represents titles like 007: First Light, proved instrumental. Derek Douglas, Wolf Haus’s agent at CAA, had previously represented Wendschuh during his twelve‑year stint in game development and had headed the video‑game department at William Morris. This network, combined with the credibility of veterans like Schneider and Chartrand, helped the studio break through the funding slump.
What truly sets Join Us apart is the manner of its creation: a full‑scale, open‑world experience built by just thirteen full‑time staff members. Dietsch emphasized that the team entered the project with a clear understanding of its scope while deliberately maintaining a small‑team culture where every voice mattered and everyone could contribute creatively. To achieve such ambition with limited manpower, Wolf Haus invested heavily in custom tooling from the outset.
"Any system in the game must be scalable and debuggable by a single person," Dietsch explained. The first year of development was split between ideating gameplay features and constructing the underlying toolchain that would allow those features to scale across a six‑kilometre‑square map without collapsing under their own weight. The funding structure further enabled this tool‑heavy approach. Krafton and Lifelike’s equity investment financed the entire development, allowing the studio to self‑fund the core project while allocating additional capital for marketing later on.
Because the investors’ returns are tied to the studio’s enterprise value, they encouraged the team to build reusable tools—a practice that may slow short‑term progress but yields long‑term efficiency and flexibility. In an industry increasingly buzzing about generative AI, Wolf Haus deliberately eschews such technologies for creative work.
Dietsch affirmed, "We don’t use generative AI in game development. The human touch is essential; handing the creative process over to an algorithm would defeat the purpose of why we love making games." Wendschuh added that while the studio does use AI for mundane tasks like calendar management and email drafting, it never touches the artistic side of production.
Interestingly, Krafton—publicly positioning itself as an "AI‑first" company—insisted that Wolf Haus avoid generative AI in the creative pipeline, mirroring a stance taken by other Krafton‑owned studios such as Neon Giant. The studio’s commitment to handcrafted content extends to the game’s world and audio. The entire six‑kilometre map is built by hand, and the 15,000 voice lines were recorded by human actors, not synthetic voices.
This dedication reflects the team’s belief that creativity should remain a human endeavour, especially as AI threatens jobs in voice acting and art. Dietsch also highlighted the immediacy of game development compared to film. In cinema, an idea can take years to materialise, requiring countless approvals and the involvement of high‑profile talent before a camera even rolls.
In contrast, a game concept can be prototyped within hours, allowing developers to see their vision materialise instantly in the engine. Wendschuh noted that while film production is front‑loaded with intense, high‑stakes set work, games benefit from fewer gatekeepers. "Anyone can rent a camera and shoot a backyard movie, but without star power or distribution, success is unlikely. With games, the barriers are lower; you don’t need an A‑list actor or director to reach an audience," he said.
Both founders trace their passion back to childhood. Dietsch recalled wanting to make either movies or games at age six, a decision that ultimately hinged on whether he received a camera for Christmas.
He taught himself programming on a TI‑83 calculator, blending his love for storytelling with technical curiosity. He believes the core purpose of both mediums is the same: to craft experiences, tell stories, and engage audiences. Join Us therefore stands as a testament to what a small, tightly knit team can achieve when they combine Hollywood storytelling sensibilities, entrepreneurial acumen from the cannabis sector, and a commitment to building their own tools—all without leaning on generative AI.
The result is a uniquely chaotic, hand‑crafted cult simulator that promises players a wild, immersive ride through a bizarre, self‑made world.