The trailer 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 zip around on pig‑mounted vehicles, unleash a barrage of machine‑gun fire, and the sequence culminates with an image of colossal, Cthulhu‑like tentacles.
What the audience didn’t see was the infamous "snake gun," a weapon that has become a hallmark of the game. According to Joe Dietsch, the CEO and creative director of Wolf Haus Games, the snake gun was born from a simple, off‑hand suggestion by a team member’s child. "His son asked, ‘Can there be a snake gun?’" Dietsch recalls. "Because we built a modular gun‑creation tool, I was able to prototype a snake‑shooting weapon in roughly thirty minutes.
The kid was thrilled, and we kept it in the final build." That anecdote encapsulates the chaotic, improvisational spirit that defines Join Us. The title is an open‑world sandbox survival experience where players can recruit followers—or invite friends in co‑op mode—to join a 1970s‑style cult. The gameplay encourages bizarre experiments, from pig‑mounted assaults to the aforementioned serpentine firearms, and it reflects the studio’s broader philosophy: lean, tool‑driven development that punches well above its weight.
Michael Abbott, the studio’s chief operating officer, summed up the team’s ambition: "We wanted to be disruptors. We told everyone, ‘We don’t need a hundred‑person roster; twelve talented people can deliver a AAA‑level experience.’ Most people thought we were delusional.
Yet we had a track record of achieving big results on shoestring budgets from our days in indie film." Indeed, the Wolf Haus founders come from deep‑rooted Hollywood backgrounds. 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 he turned his attention to Star Citizen. Abbott’s film résumé also includes producing credits on titles such as Fight for ’84, starring Jamie Foxx.
The seed of Join Us sprouted when Dietsch began tinkering with Unreal Engine. "Unreal was free to download, and I’d been a gamer for as long as I could remember," he explains. "But creating something from scratch felt like an insurmountable barrier.
I started watching YouTube tutorials, built a few tiny prototypes, and soon I was dreaming about a doomsday cult simulator that blended survival mechanics with grindhouse cinema aesthetics." Without formal training, Dietsch assembled a modest proof‑of‑concept. He pushed the demo to Abbott, who then introduced it to Dooma, a production partner. Meanwhile, Dooma’s CFO and narrative director, Dooma Wendschuh, brought a rich film‑to‑games pedigree: early work as a screenwriter and producer on titles like Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones, Assassin’s Creed, and Batman: Arkham Origins, followed by the founding of several tech ventures—including a cannabis formulation company that sold for roughly C$430 million. Wendschuh’s path took an unexpected turn when he retired to a remote Canadian island, only to be pulled back into development after a call from his old Hollywood‑Hills roommate, Michael Abbott.
"I thought I was done, but Joe’s demo blew my mind and convinced me to come out of retirement," he says. He then recruited Reid Schneider—a former Warner Bros.
Games vice‑president now heading Raccoon Logic—to serve as strategic advisor, and brought in Pierre‑Olivier Chartrand, an ex‑Ubisoft Montreal programmer, as chief technology officer. With the core team assembled, the next hurdle was financing. The studio began pitching in the summer of 2023, a period marked by an industry downturn.
Despite the bleak climate, the game’s unique premise attracted interest. After several rounds of outreach and representation by CAA (Creative Artists Agency), Wolf Haus secured a seed round from Lifelike Capital and Krafton, both taking equity stakes. "Having CAA on our side—who also represent titles like 007: First Light—opened doors that would have otherwise stayed closed," notes Wendschuh. He also credits long‑standing relationships with agents such as Derek Douglas, who had represented him during his twelve‑year stint making games.
What truly sets Join Us apart is the scale of its ambition relative to the size of its team. At any given moment, Wolf Haus employs roughly thirteen full‑time staff members. Dietsch emphasizes that this small‑team model is intentional: "We wanted every voice to be heard, every person to touch the creative process, and the final product to feel like a collective effort rather than a corporate assembly line." To make such a massive undertaking feasible, the studio invested heavily in custom tooling from the outset. "If a system exists in the game, it must be scalable and debuggable by a single developer," Dietsch explains.
"We built a toolkit that lets us prototype, iterate, and expand features across an open‑world map without the project collapsing under its own weight. In practice, the first year of development was as much about building the tools as it was about designing the gameplay." The equity‑funded model gave Wolf Haus the runway to perfect these tools. "Krafton and Lifelike’s capital financed the entire development, allowing us to self‑fund the game," says Wendschuh.
"We’re now only seeking modest project finance for marketing. The investors are aligned with our ethos: they want us to create value, which means building robust tools rather than cutting corners." When asked about generative AI—a hot topic in the industry—both Dietsch and Wendschuh were unequivocal.
"We don’t use generative AI for any creative work," Dietsch states. "Our process thrives on human intuition and craftsmanship. The only AI we employ is for mundane tasks like calendar management and email drafting." Krafton, despite branding itself as an "AI‑first" company, actually insisted that Wolf Haus avoid AI‑driven content creation.
"They wanted to be sure their investment wasn’t funding a studio that relied on AI to replace artists or voice talent," Wendschuh notes, echoing similar statements from Krafton‑owned Neon Giant. The commitment to human‑generated content is evident in the game’s world.
The six‑kilometre‑square map is hand‑crafted, and the 15,000 voice lines were recorded by real actors. "Even as a tiny indie, we felt it was crucial to preserve that human touch," says Dietsch.
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.
"With games, you can have an idea at breakfast and see it in the engine by lunch," he says. This rapid feedback loop fuels the studio’s experimental culture.
Wendschuh adds that film production is heavily front‑loaded, with massive logistical coordination before a single frame is shot. "Anyone can rent a camera and shoot a backyard movie, but without star power or distribution, success is rare. In games, the gatekeepers are fewer; you don’t need an A‑list actor or director to reach an audience," he observes. Both founders trace their passion back to childhood.
"When I was six, I wanted to make either games or movies. It boiled down to a coin toss and a Christmas camera," Dietsch laughs. "I learned to program on a TI‑83, so storytelling in any medium has always been my driving force. Whether it’s a film or a game, the goal is the same: to craft an experience, tell a story, and engage the audience." In summary, Wolf Haus’s journey illustrates how a small, Hollywood‑savvy team can leverage custom tools, strategic partnerships, and a steadfast commitment to human creativity to produce a large‑scale, high‑fidelity title without relying on generative AI.
Join Us stands as a testament to what can be achieved when a handful of passionate creators dare to defy industry expectations.