The teaser for Join Us first appeared during the Xbox Showcase in June, offering a glimpse of a darkly humorous co‑op cult simulator. In the clip, robed followers ride on pigs, unleash a barrage of machine‑gun fire, and the sequence culminates with an ominous image of massive, Cthulhu‑like tentacles.
One element that didn’t make the final cut was the infamous "snake gun," a quirky weapon that Joe Dietsch, the chief executive officer and creative director of Wolf Haus Games, says was inspired by a child’s off‑hand suggestion. "One of the team members’ sons asked, ‘What if there was a snake gun?’ We had a rapid‑prototyping tool for firearms, so within about thirty minutes I built a gun that actually fires snakes. The kid went nuts, and the weapon stayed in the game," Dietsch recounts.
This anecdote captures the chaotic, improvisational spirit that defines Join Us, an open‑world sandbox survival experience where players can recruit followers—or fellow players—to join a 1970s‑style cult. It also illustrates the studio’s technology‑first mindset, which has allowed a small crew to produce a high‑fidelity title that would traditionally require a far larger staff.
Michael Abbott, Wolf Haus’s chief operating officer, explains their ambition: "We set out to be disruptors. We told everyone we could build a AAA‑ish experience with just twelve people. Most people thought we were crazy." The team’s confidence stems from a history of achieving big results on modest budgets.
"We come from indie filmmaking, so we’re accustomed to punching well above our weight," Abbott says. After an arduous 80‑pitch marathon, Wolf Haus finally secured equity investment from Krafton and Lifelike Capital, both of which now hold stakes in the studio.
Wolf Haus’s founding members bring deep Hollywood connections to the table. 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 originally founded by Chris Roberts before his shift to Star Citizen. Abbott’s film résumé also includes producing credits on titles such as Fight for ’84 starring Jamie Foxx. 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 huge barrier to actually creating something," he explains. Starting with YouTube tutorials, he built a few small prototypes before deciding to tackle something more ambitious: a doomsday cult simulator that fused survival mechanics with grindhouse‑style cinematic flair. He crafted a proof‑of‑concept demo, assuming it would eventually hit a technical wall. When he showed the demo to Abbott, the latter took it to Dooma, a partner studio, for further development.
Dooma Wendschuh, the studio’s chief financial officer and narrative director, began his career as a film producer and screenwriter before transitioning to games in the early 2000s. He founded Sekretagent Productions, providing narrative work for titles like Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones, Assassin’s Creed, and Batman: Arkham Origins.
Later, he launched several tech ventures, most notably the cannabis‑formulation company Ebbu, which sold for roughly C$430 million (US$330 million). After that windfall, Wendschuh bought a remote island restaurant in Canada, intending to retire. Yet a sudden call from his old Hollywood‑Hills roommate, Michael Abbott, pulled him back into development.
After reviewing a demo of Join Us, he was “blown away” and agreed to re‑enter the industry. Through Wendschuh’s network, the studio added Reid Schneider—former Warner Bros. Games VP and now head of Raccoon Logic, the creators of Journey to the Savage Planet—as a strategic advisor. Schneider recruited Pierre‑Olivier Chartrand, an ex‑Ubisoft Montreal programmer, to serve as chief technology officer.
By mid‑2023 the core team was assembled, but securing financing proved difficult amid a broader industry downturn. Initial pitches generated interest but not commitment. After partnering with Creative Artists Agency (CAA) in Los Angeles and re‑pitching in 2024, Wolf Haus finally closed a seed round with Lifelike Capital and Krafton. Abbott credits the CAA connection and the presence of seasoned veterans like Schneider and Chartrand for the successful raise.
"Our agent Derek Douglas had represented me for twelve years and previously headed the video‑game department at William Morris," Wendschuh notes. What truly sets Join Us apart is the scale of its production relative to the size of the studio—only 13 full‑time staff members. Dietsch emphasizes that the team deliberately kept the group small to preserve a collaborative atmosphere where every voice matters and each member can directly influence the creative direction.
To make such an ambitious project feasible, the studio invested heavily in building internal tools early on. "Any system in the game must be scalable and debuggable by a single person," Dietsch says. "We spent the first year simultaneously designing gameplay and engineering the toolset that would let a tiny team expand the world without the project collapsing under its own weight." The funding structure also gave Wolf Haus the runway needed to perfect those tools.
Both Krafton and Lifelike are equity partners, meaning the money they contributed was used to self‑fund the game’s development. The studio has only begun to tap external project finance for marketing purposes; the core development was entirely covered by the equity investors.
This arrangement aligns the investors’ interests with the studio’s long‑term value creation, encouraging them to support the extensive tooling approach even if it slows short‑term progress. When asked about the role of generative AI—a hot topic in game development—Dietsch gives a clear answer: none. "We believe a game needs a human touch. Handing creative decisions over to an algorithm would defeat the reason we get up every morning," he says.
Wendschuh adds that the studio only uses AI for mundane tasks like calendar management and email drafting, never for artistic or design work. Interestingly, Krafton, which has branded itself as an "AI‑first" company, explicitly required Wolf Haus to avoid using generative AI in the creative pipeline, mirroring a similar stance taken by Neon Giant, another Krafton‑owned studio. The team’s commitment to human‑crafted content extends to the game's massive six‑kilometre‑square map, which was hand‑modeled, and the 15,000 voice lines, all recorded by real actors. Dietsch stresses that even as a small indie studio, preserving that level of artisanal quality was non‑negotiable.
Comparing film and games, Dietsch highlights the immediacy of interactive media. In cinema, an idea may take years to materialise, requiring multiple approvals and a lengthy production schedule. In contrast, a game concept can be prototyped in a single morning, placed directly into the engine, and iterated upon instantly—a process he finds exhilarating.
Wendschuh observes that film production is heavily front‑loaded, with intensive pre‑production phases to secure high‑profile talent and studio backing. While anyone can shoot a backyard movie, achieving commercial success without star power or distribution is rare.
Games, however, have far fewer gatekeepers; a small team can launch a hit without A‑list actors or directors. Both mediums, according to Dietsch, share a fundamental creative drive: storytelling and delivering an experience. He recalls that as a six‑year‑old he wanted to make either movies or games, and the path he took hinged on a simple coin toss and receiving a camera for Christmas. He taught himself programming on a TI‑83 calculator, laying the groundwork for a lifelong passion that now bridges both industries.
In sum, Wolf Haus’s journey demonstrates how a blend of Hollywood pedigree, savvy investment, and a relentless focus on bespoke tooling can enable a tiny team to produce a sprawling, high‑quality game without relying on generative AI. Their story underscores the evolving landscape of game development, where small, agile studios can compete with larger studios by leveraging technology, creative freedom, and a clear, human‑centric vision.