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 teaser, robed followers zip around on pig‑mounted platforms, unleash a barrage of machine‑gun fire, and the sequence culminates with a nightmarish vision of colossal, Cthulhu‑like tentacles. One element that didn’t make the final cut was the infamous "snake gun," a quirky weapon that emerged from a spontaneous suggestion by a developer’s child. Joe Dietsch, the CEO and creative director of Wolf Haus Games, recounts the moment: the youngster asked, “Can there be a snake gun?” Using a rapid‑prototyping tool, Dietsch built a functional snake‑shooting weapon in roughly thirty minutes, delighting the kid and cementing the oddball armament in the final product.
That anecdote encapsulates the chaotic, experimental spirit of Join Us, an open‑world sandbox survival title where players can recruit followers—or invite friends in co‑op mode—to join a 1970s‑style cult. The game’s design philosophy is equally reflected in the studio’s technical approach, which has allowed a small, high‑skill team to deliver a large‑scale, high‑fidelity experience. Michael Abbott, Wolf Haus’s chief operating officer, describes their ambition succinctly: “We wanted to be disruptors.” The team set out to prove that a twelve‑person roster could accomplish what most studios reserve for hundreds of developers.
Their confidence was met with skepticism; industry veterans told them it was impossible. Yet the Wolf Haus crew drew on a background of indie filmmaking, where operating on shoestring budgets while delivering cinematic impact is the norm. After 80 pitches, the studio finally secured equity financing from Krafton and Lifelike Capital. Both investors took a stake in Wolf Haus, providing the capital needed to push Join Us toward completion.
The founders’ Hollywood connections run deep. Dietsch studied film at Chapman University alongside Louie Gibson—son of Mel Gibson—who co‑founded Wolf Haus and co‑wrote and co‑directed the indie features Happy Hunting and Manifest West. Abbott is the son of renowned makeup artist Larry Abbott and helped launch Ascendant Pictures, a production company originally founded by Chris Roberts before his transition to Star Citizen. Abbott later produced movies such as Fight for ’84, starring Jamie Foxx.
Join Us originated from Dietsch’s early experiments in Unreal Engine. He recalls, “I discovered Unreal was free to download, and despite loving games for years, I felt there was a huge barrier to actually creating something.” He taught himself through YouTube tutorials, built a few small prototypes, and eventually gravitated toward a doomsday cult simulator concept that fused survival mechanics with grindhouse cinema aesthetics. The proof‑of‑concept was rough but promising; Dietsch showed it to Abbott, who then presented it to Dooma, a partner that helped shape the project’s direction.
Dooma Wendschuh, Wolf Haus’s chief financial officer and narrative director, brings a unique blend of film and tech experience. He began as a producer and screenwriter before founding Sekretagent Productions, which supplied narrative work for titles like Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones, Assassin’s Creed, and Batman: Arkham Origins. In the 2010s he launched several tech ventures, including the cannabis formulation company Ebbu, later sold for C$430 million (about $330 million USD).
After selling Ebbu, Wendschuh bought a remote island restaurant in Canada, intending to retire. Yet a sudden call from his old Hollywood‑hills roommate, Michael Abbott, pulled him back into game development when he was shown Dietsch’s prototype, which “blown his mind.” Wendschuh then recruited Reid Schneider—formerly a vice president at Warner Bros.
Games and now head of Raccoon Logic—to serve as strategic advisor, and brought Pierre‑Olivier Chartrand, a former Ubisoft Montreal programmer, on board as chief technology officer. Funding proved challenging amid an industry downturn in the summer of 2023. Initial pitches generated interest but no commitments. After enlisting the Creative Artists Agency (CAA) in Los Angeles, the team re‑pitched in 2024 and finally closed a seed round with Lifelike Capital and Krafton.
Wendschuh credits CAA’s influence and the presence of seasoned veterans like Schneider and Chartrand for the eventual success. "Derek Douglas, our agent at CAA, had represented me during my twelve‑year game‑making career and previously led the video‑game department at William Morris," Wendschuh notes.
Despite the high ambitions, Join Us is being built by only 13 full‑time staff members. Dietsch emphasizes that the small‑team model fosters a collaborative atmosphere where every voice matters and everyone can contribute creatively. To make such a scope feasible, the studio invested heavily in custom tooling early on.
"If a system exists in the game, it must be scalable and debuggable by a single person," Dietsch explains. The first year of development was split between ideating gameplay and engineering the internal toolset that would allow those ideas to scale across a massive open world without collapsing under its own complexity. The equity funding from Krafton and Lifelike allowed Wolf Haus to self‑finance the development, using the capital primarily for tool creation and production costs.
While the studio is now exploring modest project financing for marketing, the core game was built entirely with the investors’ equity. This arrangement aligns incentives: the investors benefit from increased enterprise value, encouraging them to support the studio’s tool‑heavy workflow.
"Whenever we encounter a problem we don’t know how to solve, we simply build a tool to address it," says Dietsch. "It may slow development in the short term, but it enables a tiny team to deliver a game of this magnitude." In an era where many studios tout generative AI to accelerate asset creation, Wolf Haus deliberately avoids it for core creative work. Dietsch states plainly, "We don’t use any generative AI. The human touch is essential to our process; handing development over to an algorithm would defeat the purpose of why we love making games." Wendschuh adds that while they employ AI for mundane tasks like calendar management and email drafting, it plays no role in art, design, or narrative creation.
Interestingly, Krafton—positioning itself as an "AI‑first" company—insisted that Wolf Haus refrain from using generative AI in the creative pipeline, mirroring a similar stance taken by Neon Giant, another Krafton‑owned studio. The team’s commitment to handcrafted content extends to the game’s massive six‑kilometre‑square map, which was entirely built by hand, and the 15,000 voice lines recorded by human actors. "Even as a tiny indie, we felt it was vital that every element be human‑made," Dietsch asserts.
Dietsch also reflects on the differences between filmmaking and game development. Film projects often require years of pre‑production, securing high‑profile talent, and navigating studio approvals before a single frame is shot. In contrast, a game idea can be prototyped in a single morning, inserted into the engine, and instantly visualized.
This immediacy excites him: "You can see it, you can interact with it, and that instant feedback loop is thrilling." Wendschuh observes that movies are front‑loaded with intense, high‑stakes production phases, whereas games have fewer gatekeepers. "Anyone can rent a camera and shoot a backyard movie, but without star power or distribution, success is unlikely. With games, the barriers are lower; you don’t need an A‑list actor or director to reach an audience." Both founders agree that the core creative drive—telling stories and delivering experiences—remains the same across mediums.
Dietsch recounts that as a child he was torn between making movies or games, a decision that ultimately hinged on a Christmas gift of a camera. He taught himself programming on a TI‑83 calculator, blending his love of both crafts. "Whether you’re making a film or a game, you’re aiming to engage, entertain, and tell a story.
That fundamental goal doesn’t change."