The trailer for Join Us first appeared during the Xbox Showcase in June, offering a glimpse of a darkly humorous cooperative cult simulator. In the clip, robed cultists ride on pigs, wield machine guns, and the sequence culminates with a massive, Cthulhu‑like tentacle monster looming on the horizon.
One detail that didn’t make the final edit was the infamous "snake gun," a weapon that, according to Joe Dietsch—CEO and creative director of Wolf Haus Games—originated from a simple suggestion by a team member’s son. "He asked, ‘What if there was a gun that fired snakes?’" Dietsch recalls.
"Because we had built a modular weapon system, I was able to prototype a snake‑shooting gun in about thirty minutes. The kid was thrilled, and we kept the weapon in the game." This anecdote encapsulates the chaotic, improvisational spirit that defines Join Us, an open‑world sandbox survival title where players can recruit followers—or invite friends in co‑op mode—to build a 1970s‑style cult empire. It also highlights the studio’s technology‑first philosophy, which has allowed a small crew to produce a high‑fidelity, content‑rich experience.
Michael Abbott, Wolf Haus’s chief operating officer, describes the team’s ambition as deliberately disruptive. "We told ourselves, ‘We don’t need a hundred‑person studio; twelve talented people can do this.’" Most industry observers scoffed, assuming the goal was unattainable. Yet the founders drew confidence from their background in indie filmmaking, where they routinely punched far above their budgetary weight. After 80 pitches, Wolf Haus finally secured equity investment from Krafton and Lifelike Capital, both of which took stakes in the studio.
The founding trio’s Hollywood roots run deep. Dietsch studied film at Chapman University alongside Louie Gibson, son of Mel Gibson, who now co‑founder of Wolf Haus. Together they 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 his transition to the Star Citizen universe. Abbott later produced films such as Fight for ’84 starring Jamie Foxx.
These cinematic pedigrees informed the studio’s storytelling sensibility and its willingness to experiment. Join Us was born when Dietsch began tinkering with Unreal Engine, attracted by the fact that the engine could be downloaded for free.
"I’d loved games forever, but the barrier to actually creating something felt huge," he says. He taught himself through YouTube tutorials, built a few modest prototypes, and eventually settled on a doomsday cult simulator—a concept that fused his love of survival mechanics with grindhouse cinema aesthetics. The initial proof‑of‑concept was raw but promising; Dietsch showed it to Abbott, who then presented it to Dooma, the company that would later become a strategic partner.
Dooma Wendschuh, Wolf Haus’s CFO 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 writing services for titles such as Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones, Assassin’s Creed, and Batman: Arkham Origins. In the 2010s he launched several tech ventures, most notably Ebbu, a cannabis‑formulation company that sold for roughly C$430 million (US$330 million).
After selling Ebbu, Wendschuh bought a remote island restaurant in Canada, planning a quiet retirement. A sudden call from his old Hollywood‑Hills roommate, Michael Abbott, pulled him back into the industry when he was shown Dietsch’s early demo and was instantly captivated. Wendschuh recruited Reid Schneider—former Warner Bros.
Games vice president and now head of Raccoon Logic, the studio behind Journey to the Savage Planet—as a strategic advisor. Schneider, in turn, brought on Pierre‑Olivier Chartrand, a former Ubisoft Montreal programmer, to serve as chief technology officer.
With this core team in place, Wolf Haus turned its attention to financing during a market downturn in the summer of 2023. Initial pitches generated interest but no commitments. After partnering with CAA (Creative Artists Agency) and re‑pitching in 2024, the studio finally closed a seed round with Lifelike Capital and Krafton. The involvement of CAA, which also represents titles like 007: First Light, proved pivotal, as did the presence of veteran game industry figures.
"My agent Derek Douglas had represented me for twelve years in games and previously headed the video‑game department at William Morris," Wendschuh notes, underscoring the value of established relationships. Despite the high‑profile backing, Wolf Haus has remained a tight‑knit operation of just 13 full‑time staff members. Dietsch emphasizes that the small‑team ethos is intentional: everyone has a voice, everyone can touch the creative process, and the final product feels like the work of a distinct, cohesive group rather than a faceless corporation.
To make an ambitious open‑world title feasible with such a lean crew, the studio invested heavily in custom tooling from day one. "Any system in the game must be scalable and debuggable by a single person," Dietsch explains. The team built a robust toolkit that allowed features to expand across the map without causing the project to collapse under its own weight. In effect, the first year of development was split between ideating gameplay and constructing the underlying tools that would later enable rapid iteration.
The funding structure further supported this approach. Because Krafton and Lifelike are equity partners, the capital they provided was used to self‑fund development rather than relying on external loans. This equity model aligns investor incentives with the studio’s long‑term value creation, encouraging the building of reusable tools even if they temporarily slow down feature delivery.
When asked about the role of generative AI—a hot topic in game development—Dietsch gave a blunt answer: the studio does not use it for creative work. "We believe a human touch is essential.
Turning development over to an AI would defeat the purpose of why we get up every morning," he says. Wendschuh adds that the only AI tools they employ are mundane productivity aids for scheduling and email management, not content creation.
Krafton, despite marketing itself as an "AI‑first" company, actually required Wolf Haus to avoid generative AI in the creative pipeline, mirroring similar statements from Neon Giant, another Krafton‑owned studio. The studio’s commitment to handcrafted content extends to the six‑kilometer‑square map of Join Us, which was built entirely by hand, and the 15,000 voice lines, all recorded by human actors. This dedication to artisanal production reflects the team’s broader philosophy that creativity should remain a human endeavor.
Dietsch reflects on the contrast between filmmaking and game development. In film, an idea can take years to materialize, subject to endless approvals and the need for high‑profile talent to secure financing. In games, however, an idea can be prototyped within hours, placed directly into the engine, and iterated upon immediately.
"You can have an idea this morning, code it by noon, and see it in the world," he says, describing the exhilarating immediacy of interactive media. Wendschuh notes that movies are heavily front‑loaded: pre‑production involves securing directors, actors, and studio greenlights, a process that can stall even the most promising projects. While anyone can shoot a low‑budget film with a backyard camera, breaking through without marquee names or distribution is rare. By contrast, the game industry has fewer gatekeepers, making it easier for small teams to reach a global audience without celebrity endorsement.
Both founders agree that, at their core, games and movies share the same creative impulse: 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 simple coin toss—paired with a Christmas camera—set him on a path that combined programming on a TI‑83 calculator with a lifelong love of storytelling. Whether through pixels or celluloid, the goal remains the same: to transport people into another world.
Join Us stands as a testament to what a small, focused team can achieve when they blend Hollywood storytelling chops, savvy tech development, and a clear stance against over‑reliance on AI. The game’s quirky premise, hand‑crafted world, and collaborative cult‑building mechanics promise a fresh, immersive experience that reflects the unique heritage of its creators while pushing the boundaries of indie‑scale game production.