The trailer for Join Us first caught the public’s eye during the Xbox Showcase in June, presenting a darkly humorous co‑op cult simulator where robed followers zip around on pigs, unleash machine‑gun fire, and culminate in a nightmarish vision of Cthulhu‑like tentacles. Yet one of the most memorable, if quirky, moments that never made it onto the final cut was the appearance of a "snake gun" – a weapon that literally fires serpents. According to Joe Dietsch, the CEO and creative director of Wolf Haus Games, the idea came straight from a team member’s child. "His son asked, ‘Can there be a snake gun?’" Dietsch recounted.
"Because we had built a flexible gun‑creation tool, I was able to prototype a snake‑shooting weapon in about half an hour. The kid was thrilled, and the weapon stayed in the game." That anecdote perfectly illustrates the chaotic, improvisational spirit that defines Join Us.
The game is an open‑world sandbox survival experience set in a 1970s‑style cult, where players can recruit AI followers or invite friends to join their bizarre congregation. The gameplay is deliberately unpredictable, encouraging players to experiment with outlandish weapons, bizarre rituals, and the ever‑present threat of eldritch horrors. What makes the project even more remarkable is the way Wolf Haus has managed to deliver a high‑fidelity, content‑rich title with a remarkably small development crew.
Michael Abbott, the studio’s chief operating officer, summed up their philosophy: "We set out to be disruptors. We told everyone we could build a AAA‑level experience with just twelve people, and most people thought we were delusional." Abbott’s confidence stems from a background in independent filmmaking, where small budgets often force creators to stretch resources to the limit.
"We grew up on indie film sets, learning to punch far above our weight," he explained. After a grueling series of eighty pitches, Wolf Haus finally secured equity investment from both Krafton and Lifelike Capital, giving the studio the financial runway needed to bring their vision to life.
The founding trio brings 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 the Star Citizen universe.
Abbott’s film résumé also includes a producer credit on Fight for ’84, starring Jamie Foxx. Join Us originated from Dietsch’s early experiments with Unreal Engine.
"I discovered Unreal was free to download and decided to tinker with it after watching countless YouTube tutorials," he said. Though he had no formal training in game development, Dietsch managed to create a handful of small prototypes before committing to a larger, more ambitious project. The core concept – a doomsday cult simulator that fuses survival mechanics with grindhouse cinema aesthetics – kept resurfacing in his mind. He eventually built a proof‑of‑concept demo and shared it with Abbott, who recognized its potential and introduced it to Dooma, a production partner.
Dooma Wendschuh, Wolf Haus’s chief financial officer and narrative director, entered the picture after a varied career that spans film production, screenwriting, and video‑game narrative work. In the early 2000s he founded Sekretagent Productions, providing writing services for titles such as 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 (about US$330 million).
After cashing out, Wendschuh bought a remote island restaurant in Canada, intending to retire and enjoy a quiet life. That plan was upended when an old Hollywood‑hill roommate, Michael Abbott, called to share a video‑game demo created by Joe.
"The demo blew my mind and pulled me out of retirement," Wendschuh recalled. Through Wendschuh’s network, the studio enlisted Reid Schneider – a former vice‑president at Warner Bros.
Games now heading Raccoon Logic, the creators of Journey to the Savage Planet – as a strategic advisor. Schneider, in turn, brought on Pierre‑Olivier Chartrand, a veteran programmer from Ubisoft Montreal, to serve as chief technology officer. With this core team in place, Wolf Haus turned its attention to funding, a daunting task given the industry downturn that began in 2023.
The studio’s pitch cycle spanned the summer of 2023 into 2024. Despite the market’s gloom, the team’s unique blend of Hollywood pedigree, proven tech expertise, and a compelling, off‑beat game concept earned them a spot with Creative Artists Agency (CAA). "Having CAA on our side, along with advisors who had deep industry experience, opened doors that would have otherwise stayed closed," Wendschuh noted.
Their persistence paid off when Lifelike Capital and Krafton each took an equity stake, providing the seed money needed to continue development. Wolf Haus’s development philosophy revolves around building robust, scalable tools that enable a tiny team to produce a massive game. "If a system exists in the game, it must be maintainable by a single person," Dietsch explained.
Early in the project, the studio invested heavily in a custom toolchain that could handle everything from procedural terrain generation to AI behavior scripting. This tooling approach allowed the team to iterate rapidly without the codebase becoming unmanageable as the open‑world map expanded.
The funding model also afforded the studio the luxury of time. Because Krafton and Lifelike’s investments were equity‑based rather than milestone‑driven, Wolf Haus could allocate resources toward perfecting its internal tools rather than rushing to meet external deadlines. "Our investors are motivated by the studio’s long‑term enterprise value, so they support our tool‑building ethos," Wendschuh said.
"When we encounter a problem we can’t solve with existing assets, we simply build a new tool. It may slow short‑term progress, but it ensures we can deliver a polished product with a small team." In an era where many studios tout generative‑AI pipelines, Wolf Haus has deliberately steered clear of that route.
"We don’t use generative AI for any creative work," Dietsch affirmed. "Our process is fundamentally human‑driven. The occasional AI subscription we have is only for mundane tasks like calendar management and email drafting." Even Krafton, which has publicly positioned itself as an "AI‑first" company, insisted that Wolf Haus remain free of generative‑AI influence in its creative pipeline. "They wanted to be absolutely certain we weren’t relying on AI to produce the game," Wendschuh confirmed, noting that this stance mirrors the approach taken by Krafton‑owned Neon Giant, which also rejected AI‑centric development.
The studio’s commitment to a human touch extends to the game’s massive 6‑kilometer‑square map and its 15,000 voice lines, all handcrafted and performed by professional actors. "We believed that even as a small indie, we owed it to our players to deliver an experience that feels genuinely human," Dietsch said. Comparing his work in games to his film background, Dietsch highlighted the immediacy of interactive media. In film, an idea can take years to materialize, requiring approvals, casting, and lengthy production schedules.
In contrast, a game concept can be prototyped within hours: "You can have an idea at breakfast, drop it into the engine, and see it in action by lunch. That instant feedback loop is intoxicating." Wendschuh added that while film production is heavily front‑loaded—requiring big‑name talent and studio green‑lights before cameras even roll—games face fewer gatekeepers.
"Anyone can build a game and distribute it without needing an A‑list actor or director," he observed. This democratization, he believes, is why Wolf Haus feels confident in delivering an ambitious title with a lean crew. Both founders trace their passion for storytelling back to childhood. "When I was six, I wanted to make either movies or games, and it came down to a coin toss and a Christmas camera," Dietsch recalled.
He taught himself programming on a TI‑83 calculator, a skill that later merged with his love for cinema. "Whether it’s film or a game, the goal is the same: to craft an experience, tell a story, and engage an audience. The medium changes, but the creative impulse stays constant." Join Us is set to stand out not only for its eccentric premise and high production values but also as a testament to what a focused, tool‑driven team can achieve without relying on the latest AI hype.
With Hollywood experience, savvy investors, and a clear vision, Wolf Haus aims to deliver a cult‑themed sandbox that feels both lovingly handcrafted and wildly inventive, proving that size isn’t the only factor that determines a game’s impact.