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 a monstrous, Cthulhu‑like mass of tentacles. What the audience didn’t see was the infamous snake‑gun, a weapon that, according to Joe Dietsch—CEO and creative director of Wolf Haus Games—originated from a child’s off‑hand suggestion. "One of the team member’s kids asked, ‘What would a snake‑gun look like?’ We had a rapid‑prototyping tool that let us scale a gun model in minutes, so I spent about half an hour building a weapon that actually fires snakes.
The kid went nuts, and we kept it in the final build," Dietsch recalls. This anecdote perfectly captures the chaotic, over‑the‑top gameplay that Join Us promises: an open‑world sandbox where players can recruit followers—or friends in co‑op mode—to join a 1970s‑style cult and wreak havoc across a sprawling map. The development philosophy behind the game is equally unconventional. Michael Abbott, Wolf Haus’s chief operating officer, explains that the studio set out to be "disruptors" by proving that a high‑fidelity, large‑scale title could be built with a skeleton crew.
"We told everyone we could deliver a AAA‑level experience with just twelve people. Most people laughed and said it was impossible," he says. Their confidence stems from a background in indie filmmaking, where small budgets often demand creative problem‑solving.
After 80 pitches, the team finally secured equity investment from Krafton and Lifelike Capital, giving them the financial runway to continue. Wolf Haus’s leadership is steeped in Hollywood pedigree. Dietsch studied film at Chapman University alongside Louie Gibson—son of 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 transition to Star Citizen.
Abbott later produced movies such as Fight for ’84 starring Jamie Foxx. This blend of film and game expertise informs the studio’s cinematic approach to interactive entertainment. The seed of Join Us sprouted when Dietsch began experimenting with Unreal Engine, attracted by its free download model.
"I’d been a gamer my whole life, but the barrier to actually creating a game felt huge. I started watching YouTube tutorials and built a few tiny prototypes," he says.
Those early experiments evolved into a proof‑of‑concept for a doomsday cult simulator—a concept that merged his love for grindhouse cinema, survival mechanics, and the eerie aesthetic of apocalyptic cults. The demo impressed Abbott, who then introduced it to Dooma, a partner studio that helped refine the vision. Another key figure, Dooma CFO and narrative director Dooma Wendschuh, transitioned from film to games 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 launched several tech ventures, including the cannabis formulation company Ebbu, which sold for C$430 million. After a brief retirement on a remote Canadian island, a random call from his old Hollywood roommate Michael Abbott pulled him back into development.
Wendschuh was immediately struck by the demo’s originality and agreed to join the effort. To bolster the team, Wolf Haus recruited Reid Schneider—formerly a vice‑president at Warner Bros. Games and now head of Raccoon Logic, the studio behind Journey to the Savage Planet—as a strategic advisor. Schneider also brought on Pierre‑Olivier Chartrand, a former Ubisoft Montreal programmer, to serve as chief technology officer.
With this talent pool in place, the studio turned its attention to funding. The summer of 2023 proved challenging; the industry was already in a downturn, and investors were cautious. Nevertheless, after partnering with CAA (Creative Artists Agency) and leveraging the reputation of their advisors, Wolf Haus closed a seed round with Lifelike Capital and Krafton in early 2024. Despite the modest headcount—just thirteen full‑time staff members—the studio has maintained a tight‑knit, collaborative culture.
"Everyone has a voice, everyone touches the creative process, and the game feels like a product of a specific, cohesive group," Dietsch emphasizes. This philosophy required a massive upfront investment in internal tools.
The team built a scalable, debug‑friendly system that allows a single developer to iterate on world‑building features without the project collapsing under its own weight. In Dietsch’s words, the first year of development was spent simultaneously designing gameplay and engineering the toolset that would make that gameplay possible. Funding from Krafton and Lifelike has been structured as equity, allowing Wolf Haus to self‑finance the majority of development while retaining creative control.
"Our investors are motivated to increase the studio’s enterprise value, so they support our tool‑heavy approach," says Wendschuh. This model also means the studio can afford to spend time on bespoke solutions rather than cutting corners.
When asked about the role of generative AI—a hot topic in game development—the team gave a clear answer: they do not use it for creative work. "We believe a human touch is essential.
Turning the creative process over to an AI would defeat the purpose of why we get up every morning," Dietsch says. The only AI tools in the studio are mundane productivity aids like calendar scheduling and email drafting. Interestingly, Krafton, which has branded itself as an "AI‑first" company, explicitly required Wolf Haus to avoid generative AI in the game's creation, mirroring similar stances taken by other Krafton‑owned studios. The commitment to handcrafted content extends to the game’s massive six‑kilometre‑square map and its 15,000 voice lines, all recorded by human actors.
"Even as a tiny indie, we felt it was crucial to keep the experience fully human‑driven," Dietsch explains. This dedication contrasts sharply with the film industry’s gate‑keeping model, where securing A‑list talent is often a prerequisite for financing. In gaming, the barriers are lower: a small team can produce a polished, market‑ready product without marquee names, which is why many developers, including Dietsch, see games as a more accessible medium for storytelling.
Reflecting on his career, Dietsch notes that the immediacy of game development is a major draw. In film, an idea can take years to materialise, requiring countless approvals and scheduling constraints. In contrast, a concept can be prototyped in a morning, placed into the engine, and instantly visualised. This rapid feedback loop fuels creativity and keeps the development process exhilarating.
In summary, Join Us exemplifies how a blend of Hollywood experience, savvy tech development, and disciplined funding can enable a small team to produce an ambitious, high‑quality title without relying on generative AI. By building robust internal tools, securing supportive equity partners, and staying true to a handcrafted aesthetic, Wolf Haus is poised to deliver a cult‑simulator that feels both wildly original and meticulously crafted.