The dieselpunk artillery game IRON NEST: Heavy Turret Simulator, made by Nick Niewoudt Talmers and Dominik Latos—two developers with over twenty years of combined studio experience—has achieved over 10,000 Steam wishlists in just two months. This came without any marketing spending, which is an impressive feat since marketing is usually considered a nightmare for indie teams.
The game gives players control of a huge war machine and requires them to figure out what to do with confusing battlefield reports and heavy weaponry through a tactical puzzle-driven approach. The developers claimed that PVKK was an inspiration for IRON NEST, which they said is part of a new genre they dub "thinking man's action game." This genre combines deep simulation-like gameplay with story-driven choices.
The team said that three things helped them succeed: they timed their moves well as gamers waited for more PVKK-style experiences, they focused on short-form video content on platforms like TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts where simulation games do best, and they maintained consistent daily presence across these platforms. "If not through the door, then through the window," they explained, describing their growth. Surprisingly, they achieved this without a trailer on their Steam page for the first two months, only adding one on November 25th.
They did see a bit of an issue: how would they market an incomplete game when their demo was set for February's Steam Next Fest? Their answer was to "sell the fantasy" by showcasing 50% of the game in real time, while the atmosphere and carefully chosen military-themed music would fill the remaining 50%. This would let gamers picture what the finished product will be like while the game is still in development.
Their roadmap has changed due to the positive feedback. Originally, they planned to release the game exclusively on PC and then work on a separate multiplayer project. Now, after the Steam launch in mid-2026, they are focusing effort on porting the game to other platforms. Console versions will undoubtedly be available, and VR is being discussed because of the continuous community interest. "Either until we conquer the gaming universe, or one of us collapses from exhaustion… whichever comes first," they said.
Players that want to play IRON NEST should expect to be able to do so through the game's Discord, where the company operates "open development" and players can see the development channels. The public demo is scheduled to be released in February 2026 as part of Steam Next Fest, and the full release is anticipated around the middle of 2026.
IRON NEST: Heavy Turret Simulator is currently available to wishlist on Steam. The development team invites interested players to join their Discord for playtesting opportunities and development updates.
