Join Us, the upcoming co-op game where you can establish your own cult, has recruited four former cult members to “recruit followers, build their compounds, define their beliefs, and experience the game’s darkly satirical take on cult life”.
Former cult members Jaga, Javier, Ariel, and Elena, who have a “collective experience of over 50 years in their unique societies”, came together to play the game. See what they made of it in the teaser below (spoilers: not everyone’s a fan):
JOIN US – Real Ex-Cult Members Play | Gamescom 2026.Watch on YouTube
While developer Wolf Haus was cautious enough to bleep out the actual cult names, they did talk a little about their time with their respective cults, with Ariel talking about his former belief that there was a UFO coming to take him “home” on 12th May 2001, and Javier reflecting on his days in a “holistic rejuvenation centre” where they grew all of their own food.
It’s an extraordinary experiment, not least because, as Wolf Haus itself admits, the reactions were “mixed”, with one very excited about growing their own tomatoes, and another confidently declaring “no one’s going to like this”.
Join Us is an open-world survival game where you can build your own cult, recruit followers, survive the apocalypse, and play solo or in co-op with up to four players. It’s currently slated to release in March 2027 on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S.