The trailer for Join Us first appeared during the Xbox Showcase in June, offering a glimpse of a darkly humorous cooperative cult simulation. In the clip, robed followers zip around on pigs, unleash a barrage of machine‑gun fire, and the sequence culminates with an image of colossal, Cthulhu‑like tentacles looming over the scene. One detail 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 imagination. "One of the developer’s kids asked, ‘What would a snake‑gun look like?’" Dietsch recalls.
"We had a modular weapon system, so I threw together a prototype in about thirty minutes. The kid went wild, and the gun stuck around in the final build." That anecdote captures the chaotic, improvisational spirit that defines Join Us. The game is an open‑world sandbox survival experience where players can recruit AI followers or friends in co‑op mode to build a 1970s‑style cult.
It also showcases the studio’s technology‑first mindset, which has enabled a small crew to produce a high‑fidelity title that would normally require a much larger staff. Michael Abbott, Wolf Haus’s chief operating officer, sums up the ambition: "We set out to be disruptors. We told everyone we could deliver a AAA‑level product with just a dozen people.
Most people thought we were crazy." The team’s confidence stems from a background in independent filmmaking, where they learned to achieve big results on modest budgets. "We come from the indie‑film world and are used to punching well above our weight," Abbott explains.
After 80 pitches, Wolf Haus finally secured equity funding from Krafton and Lifelike Capital, both of which took minority stakes in the studio. Wolf Haus’s founding members have deep ties to Hollywood. Dietsch studied film at Chapman University alongside Louie Gibson, the 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, the production company founded by Chris Roberts before he turned his attention to Star Citizen.
Abbott later produced movies such as Fight for ’84, starring Jamie Foxx. The seed of Join Us was planted when Dietsch began experimenting with Unreal Engine. "Unreal was free to download, and I’d always loved games, but the barrier to actually creating something felt huge," he says.
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 blended survival mechanics with grindhouse cinema aesthetics—essentially a love letter to the movies and games he adored. He built a proof‑of‑concept demo and showed it to Abbott, who then introduced the project to Dooma Wendschuh, the studio’s chief financial officer and narrative director.
Wendschuh’s career began in film as a producer and screenwriter before he pivoted to games in the early 2000s, founding Sekretagent Productions, which supplied writing talent 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 selling Ebbu, Wendschuh bought a remote island restaurant in Canada, planning a quiet retirement.
Yet, in classic Hollywood fashion, a call from his old roommate Michael Abbott pulled him back into the industry. "I was looking at the video Joe had made, and it blew my mind," Wendschuh says, prompting him to re‑enter game development. He brought on Reid Schneider, a former Warner Bros.
Games vice‑president, as a strategic advisor, and recruited Pierre‑Olivier Chartrand, an ex‑Ubisoft Montreal programmer, to serve as chief technology officer. With the core team assembled, the next hurdle was financing—a daunting task during the 2023 industry downturn. Initial pitches generated interest but fell short of securing capital.
After partnering with Creative Artists Agency (CAA) in Los Angeles, the studio renewed its outreach in 2024 and finally closed a seed round with Krafton and Lifelike Capital. Wendschuh credits the CAA connection and the presence of seasoned veterans like Schneider and Chartrand for the successful fundraising. Despite the high‑profile backers, Join Us remains a lean operation of just 13 full‑time staff members. "We entered the project with a clear sense of scope and a desire to keep the team small, so everyone’s voice matters and each person can touch the creative core," Dietsch explains.
To make such an ambitious game feasible with limited personnel, the studio invested heavily in custom tooling early on. "Any system in the game needs to be scalable and debuggable by a single developer," Dietsch notes.
The first year of development was split between ideating gameplay and building the underlying toolset, a strategy that also lays the groundwork for future projects. The equity funding model gave Wolf Haus the runway to perfect these tools. "Krafton and Lifelike’s investments have essentially self‑funded the game," says Wendschuh. While the studio is now seeking a modest amount of project finance for marketing, the core development has been covered entirely by the equity partners.
This arrangement aligns investor incentives with the studio’s long‑term value creation, encouraging the team to keep building robust tools rather than cutting corners. When asked about the role of generative AI, Dietsch is unequivocal: the studio does not employ AI for creative tasks. "We believe a human touch is essential to game making. Handing the creative process over to an algorithm would defeat the purpose of why we get up every morning," he says.
Wendschuh adds that the only AI they use is for administrative purposes, such as calendar management and email drafting. Interestingly, Krafton, which has branded itself as an "AI‑first" company, explicitly discouraged Wolf Haus from integrating generative AI into the game’s creative pipeline, echoing similar statements from its subsidiary Neon Giant.
The team’s commitment to handcrafted content extends to the game’s world and audio. The six‑kilometre‑square map was built entirely by hand, and the 15,000 voice lines were recorded by human actors, not synthetic voices.
"That was a non‑negotiable for us, even as a tiny indie," Dietsch emphasizes. Dietsch also reflects on the differences between filmmaking and game development. In film, an idea can take years to materialize, often requiring the approval of high‑profile talent and studios before production even begins.
In contrast, a game concept can be prototyped within hours and tested directly in the engine. "You can have an idea this morning, drop it into Unreal, and see it instantly," he says, describing the immediacy that fuels his passion. Wendschuh points out that movies are heavily front‑loaded: securing a director, cast, and financing before cameras roll. While anyone can shoot a video with a cheap camera, breaking into the film market without marquee names is exceedingly difficult.
Games, however, have far fewer gatekeepers. "You don’t need an A‑list actor or director to make a successful game," he explains, noting that the lower barrier to entry democratizes the medium. Both men agree that the core creative impulse—telling stories and delivering experiences—remains the same across mediums.
"When I was six, I wanted to make either movies or games, and it boiled down to a coin toss and a Christmas camera," Dietsch recalls. He taught himself programming on a TI‑83 calculator, illustrating his lifelong fascination with interactive storytelling. Whether through film or interactive media, the goal is to engage an audience, convey a narrative, and provide an immersive experience. In summary, Wolf Haus’s journey demonstrates how a small, Hollywood‑infused team can leverage custom tools, strategic funding, and a steadfast commitment to human‑crafted content to create a sprawling, high‑quality game without relying on generative AI.
Their story underscores the evolving landscape of game development, where a dozen dedicated creators can rival the output of much larger studios, provided they blend technical ingenuity with a clear creative vision.