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 massive, Cthulhu‑like tentacles looming over the scene.
One detail that didn’t make the final cut was the infamous “snake gun,” a weapon that originated from a simple suggestion by a team member’s child. Joe Dietsch, the CEO and creative director of Wolf Haus Games, recalls the moment: “My colleague’s son asked, ‘What would a snake‑shooting gun look like?’ We had a modular weapon system that let us prototype new guns in minutes, so I built a snake‑gun in about thirty minutes. The kid went wild, and we kept the weapon in the game.” This anecdote captures the chaotic, improvisational spirit that defines Join Us, an open‑world sandbox where players can recruit followers—or invite friends in co‑op—to build a 1970s‑style cult empire. The game’s design philosophy is mirrored in the studio’s development approach.
Michael Abbott, Wolf Haus’s chief operating officer, says the team set out to be “disruptors.” “We told ourselves we didn’t need a hundred‑person studio; twelve talented people could pull it off,” he explains. Skeptics called the goal impossible, but the founders drew confidence from their backgrounds in independent film, where they routinely achieved cinematic ambitions on shoestring budgets. After 80 pitches, they finally secured equity investment from Krafton and Lifelike Capital, both of which now hold stakes in Wolf Haus. Wolf Haus’s leadership is steeped in Hollywood pedigree.
Dietsch studied film at Chapman University alongside Louie Gibson—son of Mel Gibson—who later co‑founded the studio and 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 movies such as Fight for ’84 starring Jamie Foxx.
The seed of Join Us sprouted when Dietsch began tinkering with Unreal Engine, attracted by its free download model. “I’d been a gamer my whole life, but creating something felt out of reach until I discovered Unreal,” he says. Teaching himself through YouTube tutorials, he built a handful of small prototypes before committing to a larger vision: a doomsday cult simulator that blended survival mechanics with grindhouse cinema aesthetics.
The initial proof‑of‑concept was a sandbox where the player could experiment with cult rituals, resource gathering, and bizarre weaponry. After showing the demo to Abbott, the concept was handed to Dooma for further development. Dooma Wendschuh, Wolf Haus’s CFO and narrative director, entered the gaming world after a career in film production and screenwriting. In the early 2000s he founded Sekretagent Productions, providing narrative services for titles like Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones, Assassin’s Creed, and Batman: Arkham Origins.
Later, he built several tech ventures, most notably the cannabis formulation company Ebbu, which sold for roughly C$430 million (US$330 million). After a brief retirement on a remote Canadian island, a call from his old Hollywood‑Hills roommate Michael Abbott lured him back: “I saw Joe’s demo and it blew my mind, so I left retirement to join the project.” Wendschuh then recruited Reid Schneider, former Warner Bros. Games VP, as a strategic advisor, and hired Pierre‑Olivier Chartrand, ex‑Ubisoft Montreal programmer, as chief technology officer. Funding proved to be the next hurdle.
The studio began pitching in summer 2023, a period marked by an industry downturn. Despite positive reactions to the game’s concept, securing capital was difficult. After partnering with CAA (Creative Artists Agency) and re‑pitching in 2024, Wolf Haus finally closed a seed round with Lifelike Capital and Krafton. Abbott notes that CAA’s representation, which also includes titles like 007: First Light, and the presence of seasoned veterans such as Schneider and Chartrand, were instrumental in gaining investor confidence.
What truly sets Join Us apart is the way it is being built: a 13‑person core team that maintains a tight, collaborative culture. “Everyone has a voice, everyone touches the creative side, and the game feels like a product of a single, cohesive group,” says Dietsch. To make such an ambitious open‑world title feasible with a small staff, the studio invested heavily in custom tooling from day one.
“If a system exists in the game, it must be scalable and debuggable by one person,” Dietsch explains. The first year of development was therefore split between ideating gameplay and constructing the internal tools that would keep the project from collapsing under its own weight as the world expanded. The equity‑funded model gave Wolf Haus the breathing room to perfect these tools. Krafton and Lifelike’s capital financed the entire development, with only a modest amount of project finance earmarked for marketing.
This structure aligns investor incentives with the studio’s ethos: building reusable tools that solve problems in‑house, even if it slows short‑term progress, because it enables a small team to deliver a high‑quality product. When asked about generative AI, Dietsch is unequivocal: the studio does not employ it for creative work. “We believe a human touch is essential.
Using AI to generate assets would defeat the reason we get up every morning,” he says. Wendschuh adds that while the team may use AI for mundane tasks like calendar management, it never touches the artistic pipeline. Interestingly, Krafton—publicly branding itself as an “AI‑first” company—explicitly required Wolf Haus to avoid generative AI in the creative process, echoing similar statements from Krafton‑owned Neon Giant.
The 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. Dietsch emphasizes that this level of artisanal effort matters even for an indie studio, as it preserves the authenticity of the experience.
Comparing film and games, Dietsch highlights the immediacy of interactive media. In cinema, an idea can take years to materialize, requiring approvals, casting, and extensive production pipelines. In contrast, a game concept can be prototyped the same morning, placed into the engine, and instantly tested.
Wendschuh notes that film production is heavily front‑loaded, with a small number of high‑profile talent needed to secure studio backing, whereas games face fewer gatekeepers. “You don’t need an A‑list actor or director to make a successful game,” he says, underscoring the democratizing power of the medium.
Both mediums, however, share a core creative impulse: storytelling and evoking emotion. Dietsch reflects on his childhood, when a coin toss determined whether he’d pursue movies or games. “Whether you’re making a film or a game, you’re delivering an experience, telling a story, and engaging an audience,” he concludes, a sentiment that continues to drive Wolf Haus as they bring Join Us to life.