The teaser for Join Us first appeared during the Xbox Showcase in June, offering a glimpse of a darkly humorous co‑op cult simulation. In the clip, robed followers zip around on pigs, fire machine guns, and the sequence culminates with an ominous image of colossal, Cthulhu‑like tentacles. One element that didn’t make the final cut was the infamous snake‑gun, a quirky weapon that, according to Joe Dietsch—CEO and creative director of Wolf Haus Games—originated from a child’s off‑hand suggestion. "One of our team member’s kids asked, ‘What would a snake‑gun look like?’ We had a rapid‑prototype tool for weapons, so within about thirty minutes I built a gun that actually shoots snakes.
It blew his mind and we kept it in the game," Dietsch recalls. That anecdote captures the chaotic, improvisational spirit that defines Join Us, an open‑world sandbox survival experience where players can recruit followers—or invite friends in co‑op mode—to build a 1970s‑style cult. It also illustrates the studio’s technology‑first mindset, which has allowed a relatively tiny team to produce a high‑fidelity title that would normally require a much larger staff. Michael Abbott, Wolf Haus’s chief operating officer, summed up their ambition: "We set out to be disruptors.
We told everyone, ‘We don’t need a hundred developers; twelve will do.’ Most people thought we were crazy, but we’ve proven them wrong." The team’s confidence stems from a background in low‑budget, high‑impact filmmaking. "We come from indie cinema and we’re used to punching far above our weight," Abbott explains.
After 80 pitch meetings, the studio finally secured equity investment from Krafton and Lifelike Capital, giving Wolf Haus the financial runway to continue development. 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 renowned makeup artist Larry Abbott and helped launch Ascendant Pictures, the production company founded by Chris Roberts before his transition to Star Citizen. Abbott later produced movies such as Fight for ’84, starring Jamie Foxx. The seed of Join Us was planted when Dietsch began experimenting with Unreal Engine.
"Unreal was free to download, and I’d always loved games, but the barrier to actually creating something felt huge. I started learning from YouTube tutorials and built a few small prototypes," he says.
Though he had no formal game‑dev experience, he soon conceived a doomsday cult simulator that merged his love for survival mechanics with grindhouse cinema aesthetics. He built a proof‑of‑concept, showed it to Abbott, and the idea quickly gained momentum. Dooma Wendschuh, Wolf Haus’s chief financial officer and narrative director, entered the picture after a varied career that spanned film production, screenwriting, and video‑game narrative work. He founded Sekretagent Productions, providing writing 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 C$430 million (approximately $330 million USD). After a brief retirement—during which he bought a remote Canadian island restaurant—Wendschuh was drawn back into the industry by a call from his old Hollywood Hills roommate, Michael Abbott. "I saw the demo Joe had made and it blew my mind, so I came out of retirement to help," he recounts. Wendschuh recruited Reid Schneider, former VP at Warner Bros.
Games and now head of Raccoon Logic (the studio behind Journey to the Savage Planet), as a strategic advisor. Schneider then brought in Pierre‑Olivier Chartrand, a former Ubisoft Montreal programmer, to serve as chief technology officer.
With this core in place, the studio turned its attention to financing. Pitching began in the summer of 2023, a period marked by a broader industry downturn. "People liked what we were showing, but the timing was tough," says Dietsch. After partnering with CAA (Creative Artists Agency) and re‑pitching in 2024, Wolf Haus finally closed a seed round with Lifelike Capital and Krafton.
The CAA connection proved invaluable. Derek Douglas, Wolf Haus’s agent at CAA, had previously represented Wendschuh during his twelve‑year game‑development career and had headed the video‑game department at William Morris. This network, combined with the expertise of Schneider and Chartrand, helped the studio secure the needed capital.
What truly sets Join Us apart is the way it’s being built: a full‑scale, open‑world experience developed by just 13 full‑time staff members. Dietsch emphasizes that the team deliberately kept the roster small to preserve a collaborative culture where every voice matters.
To make such an ambitious scope feasible, the studio invested heavily in custom tooling early on. "Every system we create must be scalable and debuggable by a single person," he explains.
"We spent the first year simultaneously designing gameplay and building the internal tools that would let us expand the world without the project collapsing under its own weight." The equity financing model gave Wolf Haus the freedom to perfect these tools. "Krafton and Lifelike are equity partners; their investment funds the development directly, making the game essentially self‑funded," Wendschuh notes. "We’re now using a modest amount of project finance for marketing, but the core development has been covered by our investors." One of the most striking aspects of Wolf Haus’s approach is its staunch rejection of generative AI for creative work. While many studios are experimenting with AI‑generated assets, Dietsch says the studio deliberately avoids it.
"We believe a game needs a human touch. Hand‑crafting the experience is why we get up in the morning," he says. Wendschuh adds that the studio only uses AI for administrative tasks like calendar management and email drafting. Even Krafton, which has branded itself as an “AI‑first” company, insisted that Wolf Haus not employ generative AI in the creative pipeline, preferring to protect the artistic integrity of the project.
The commitment to handcrafted content extends to the game’s massive six‑square‑kilometre map and its 15,000 voice lines, all recorded by human actors. "That level of manual effort is essential for us, even as a small indie studio," Dietsch emphasizes. Dietsch also reflects on the differences between filmmaking and game development.
In film, an idea can take years to materialize, requiring countless approvals and the involvement of high‑profile talent before a studio will green‑light production. By contrast, a game concept can be prototyped within a day, allowing creators to iterate instantly.
"You can have an idea this morning, drop it into the engine, and see it in action right away. That immediacy is exhilarating," he says.
Wendschuh points out that movies are heavily front‑loaded with pre‑production hurdles—securing directors, stars, and studio backing—whereas games face fewer gatekeepers. "Anyone can rent a camera and shoot a backyard movie, but without big names or distribution, success is rare.
With games, the barrier to entry is lower, and a great experience can find an audience without A‑list talent," he explains. Both men agree that the core creative drive is the same across mediums: to tell a story, create an experience, and engage an audience. "When I was six, I wanted to make either movies or games—it was a coin toss that depended on whether I got a camera for Christmas. I learned to program on a TI‑83, so I’ve always been fascinated by both.
Ultimately, whether you’re making a film or a game, you’re delivering a narrative and an emotional journey," Dietsch concludes. Join Us therefore stands as a testament to what a small, tightly knit team can achieve when they blend Hollywood storytelling sensibilities, savvy tech development, and a firm belief in human‑crafted artistry—without leaning on generative AI to shortcut the creative process.