Nick Nieuwoudt is a co-developer of IRON NEST: Heavy Turret Simulator, released for PC on August 6 at 1,980 yen. He and co-developer Dominik Latos are responding to positive feedback, especially from military veterans, about the game's psychological simulation of command.
Nick Nieuwoudt and co-developer Dominik Latos built IRON NEST: Heavy Turret Simulator as a diesel-punk artillery simulation, released for PC on August 6 at 1,980 yen. The game puts the player inside a giant walking cannon, the Iron Nest, operating in an alternate-history Spain of the late 1920s where the monarchy survived and World War I never happened. Gameplay centers on manual fire direction: measuring targets, calculating ballistic trajectories, setting propellant charges, and selecting from 30 shell types.
The most resonant response, Nieuwoudt says, has come from military veterans. Several told him the game captures the real work of fire direction commanders and gunners. One said playing helped them confront PTSD-related memories. For Nieuwoudt this validates the project's core aim as a psychological simulation of responsibility and the pressure of command, not a mechanical exercise.
Nieuwoudt cites the original Crysis as his favorite game and Katsuhiro Otomo's "Cannon Fodder" as a major influence. The demo released June 16 on Steam during the Steam Next Fest: June 2026 Edition, and quickly drew over 1,400 reviews with a "Very Positive" rating. The full version launched in early August as planned, with localization into Japanese in progress at the time of the demo.
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GameBusiness.jp interviews Nick Nieuwoudt and Dominik Latos, developers of the diesel-punk artillery simulation IRON NEST: Heavy Turret Simulator. Released for PC on August 6 at 1,980 yen, the game puts players inside a giant walking cannon, measuring targets and choosing from 30 shell types. Nieuwoudt cites the original Crysis as his favorite game and Katsuhiro Otomo's "Cannon Fodder" as a major influence.
Nick Nieuwoudt, co-developer of IRON NEST: Heavy Turret Simulator, says the most moving feedback came from veterans who told him the game captures the real work of fire direction commanders and gunners. One said it helped them face PTSD-related memories. The diesel-punk artillery game, out on PC since August 6 at 1,980 yen, is built as a psychological simulator rather than a mechanical one, with the player choosing among thirty shell types.
Independent developers Nick Nieuwoudt and Dominik Latos have released a demo version of 'IRON NEST: Heavy Turret Simulator' on Steam, coinciding with the Steam Next Fest: June 2026 Edition. The game is a first-person heavy turret simulator set in an alternate history of Spain in the late 1920s, where the monarchy did not collapse and World War I did not occur. Players operate a massive four-legged land artillery fortress called the 'Iron Nest,' following orders from high command via radio communication. They must manually calculate ballistic trajectories, measure distances, set propellant charges, and load shells from a selection of 30 types, including armor-piercing, smoke, and gas rounds. The demo includes a Campaign Mode that tells a story indirectly through orders, field reports, aerial reconnaissance photos, and propaganda newspapers, as well as a Challenge Mode with leaderboards. The full version is planned for release in early August 2026, with localization into languages including Japanese in progress. The demo has already received over 1,400 reviews on Steam, earning a 'Very Positive' rating.