IRON NEST: Heavy Turret Simulator — Overview

IRON NEST: Heavy Turret Simulator is a first-person dieselpunk heavy-artillery sim from a two-person team -- Nick Talmers Nieuwoudt (development) and Dominik Latos, credited playfully as "propaganda" -- released under PlayWay S.A. It launches August 6, 2026 on PC via Steam. You don't command an army; you operate a single colossal 5,000-ton war machine, the titular Iron Nest, translating printed orders into precise, physically-simulated cannon fire.

No Voice Acting, By Design

There is no radio chatter or human voice acting anywhere in the game -- communication is deliberately sterile and mechanical. Two teleprinters relay all information: one prints TOP-PRIORITY directives from High Command, the other relays direct calls from the frontline. This isn't a missing feature; it's core to the game's narrative tone of isolated, mechanical obedience under a distant, authoritarian command structure.

Setting

The campaign is set in an alternate-history Spain in the late 1920s, on the brink of civil war -- a dieselpunk reimagining of a real historical flashpoint rather than a generic fictional war. This timeline diverges from actual history in a specific way: the monarchy still holds power as a republican uprising spreads across the country, rather than the real Spanish Civil War's post-monarchy conflict.

Core Gameplay Loop

Every shot follows the same real, physically-grounded process: read incoming orders off the teleprinter, take measurements on a tactical map based on received coordinates, solve range and elevation on a ballistic calculator, then physically lay the gun using squealing hydraulic levers before firing. The developers have cited 1990s anime, Cannon Fodder, and the niche simulator PVKK: Planetenverteidigungskanonenkommandant as direct inspirations for this tactile, step-by-step approach.

Critical Reception Pre-Launch

Early press coverage has been notably positive for a niche two-person project: Kotaku called it "tactile and absurdly meticulous," Rock Paper Shotgun said "you have never experienced [a turret] from the inside," and IGN called it "possibly the most intense turret simulator game ever."

Just the Beginning of a Planned Universe

The developers have explicitly said Heavy Turret Simulator is only the first step in a larger planned IRON NEST universe, rather than a standalone one-off release.