‘Happy Hunting’ Filmmaker Launches Wolf Haus Games With Funding From ‘PUBG’ Developer Krafton (EXCLUSIVE)

“Happy Hunting” filmmaker Joe Dietsch has launched Montreal-based video game startup Wolf Haus Games. The studio opens with more than $4 million Canadian dollars (approximately $2.9 million USD) in funding from “PUBG” developer Krafton Inc. and venture capital fund Lifelike Capital.

With the new influx of cash, Wolf Haus Games will be able to launch its first title, an “ambitious and highly unconventional systems-based open world survival game” developed using Unreal Engine 5.

Per the studio, “Wolf Haus Games is focused on building both innovative IP and the next generation of open-world, systems-based gaming. The company has a commitment to developing high-concept creative with a mix of gritty action and dark-humor; drawing from the founder’s backgrounds in both the gaming and film industries.”

Wolf Haus is currently hiring designers, engineers and programmers for full time positions in Montreal.

“From the beginning, Krafton and Lifelike really believed in our core premise of combining the fidelity of AAA gaming with the control, efficiency, and creative-risk-taking that comes with a smaller team,” Wolf Haus Games CEO and creative director Dietsch said. “We couldn’t be happier to be going down this road with them.”

“The team at Wolf Haus Games has built something truly special from the ground up,” Krafton Inc vice president and head of corporate development Maria Park said. “We were immediately captivated by the game’s unique sense of humor and eccentricity. Their DIY approach is refreshing and aligns perfectly with our mission to ‘Scale up the Creative,’ making this partnership an exciting opportunity.”

“From the first time I met Joe and the Wolf Haus team, I knew they had passion, grit and creativity,” Lifelike Capital co-founder and general partner Randy Lee said. “Then I played their demo and was blown away to find out that Joe was so passionate about gaming that he was a self-taught developer on Unreal. I’m really looking forward to having players experience the team’s creative gameplay mechanics.”

Wolf Haus Games is repped by CAA.