I honestly don’t even know how we should start this devlog… Should we begin with the hundredth "thank you" to everyone who clicked that magical "wishlist" button on Steam? Or maybe with an apology for not communicating with you as often as we'd like to?
✯ I think it wouldn’t hurt to start with a little backstory! ✯
There are just two of us working on this project. From the very beginning ➙ when we were still shaping the concept and setting up our collaboration, we agreed that we didn’t want any second-party studios or publishers involved = we’re doing everything from A to Z, just the two of us... Even though this is our first project together, it’s not the first game either of us has worked on. We both bring industry experience from different companies (over 20 years combined) so we know that in 2025, a developer who wants to self-publish has to be a programmer, an artist, and… surprise, surprise! ➙ An influencer / marketer as well!
Following that mindset, we (TBH Nick did) recently decided that IRON NEST was finally ready to be shown publicly... We posted our first short clips on TikTok ➙ the channels were clunky, the BIOs unfinished, and we had exactly "0" followers... But what happened under those short videos… Is something we honestly can’t even put into words...
✯ BOOM! 💥 IRON NEST just exploded! ✯
Some kind robot in charge of the algorithm decided to bless us with an insane amount of reach ➙ Disclaimer: we’d like to thank that kind robot from the bottom of our hearts!
Back to the IRON NEST... That’s when it all began... (not that we’re complaining!) Steam wishlist started growing by around 1,500 people per day, and our Discord (which had just the two of us) suddenly hit over 100 members in a single week! As I'm writing this devlog, we’re sitting at 6,846 wishlists and 288 Discord members! FYI ➙ We’re insannnnnnely happy that this project (born out of pure passion) resonated with you, because we’ve both been obsessed with artillery, interwar machinery, and dieselpunk worlds since forever = seeing this kind of buzz around our project gives us an extra boost!
✯ We’ve found ourselves in the place we’ve always wanted to be! ✯
And it happened so fast it literally blew our fuses... Even though neither of us is capable of maintaining any kind of healthy work-life balance, pulling a ridiculous amount of overtime, there’s still never enough coffee in the machine to keep up with everything...
As many of you already know (we even mention it on our Steam Store Page), one of our main inspirations is PVKK by Bipinbits = if you’re going to aim high, aim so high you run out of oxygen, right?! Here's another small disclaimer ➙ let me paste one of the answers from the FAQ we’ve been putting together with Nick recently.
Q: Is it inspired by PVKK?
We both have big cannons? Sure... We both have fully manual control? Absolutely... But what you do with the cannon in IRON NEST is entirely different! We're huge fans of PVKK and, YES - it definitely inspired us. But our core gameplay loop revolves around ground-based artillery, which brings a completely different setup, mechanics, and challenges compared to an orbital gun!
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2956040/PVKK_Planetenverteidigungskanonenkommandant/
Since we’ve:
- taken on something equally ambitious; ⤴️
- preparing to release the Demo during February’s Steam Next Fest (in just 3 months!);
- scheduled the full version (NO Early Access!) for mid-2026;
- running playtests all the way until launch;
- been handling all the marketing ourselves;
Sometimes we don’t have as much time for communication as we’d like to and that’s exactly where we’re asking for your help!
Our top priority is development = delivering a project that’s not just "okay", but one that meets and exceeds the expectations we’ve built through our steam page and short videos. But since it turns out there are people whose autism this also tickles just like ours, we also want to reach everyone who shares our passion and that’s where we need your help! If it’s not too much to ask, spread the religion of IRON NEST across the corners of the internet (to bring even more people of "our kind" here), and we promise... won’t let you down!
Examples of how you can help us:
- Ask questions & leave comments on the Steam Community Hub;
- Follow IRON NEST social media ➙ like, comment & repost our updates;
(especially on X... the algorithm there doesn’t seem to like us very much) - Share info about IRON NEST on Reddits, Facebook groups, YouTube comments ➙ anywhere;
(or let us know where you think we should reach out...) - If you're a influencer (content creator), know someone who is, or write for a gaming newsletter... reach out to us or recommend us to your friend: [email protected];
(we’ll be super grateful for any kind of coverage) - Join us on Discord & invite your friends so we can communicate with you more easily;
(FYI ➙ everyone who stays with us on Discord until the game’s release will be added to the game credits + playtests are ongoing) - Or tell us what we should be doing!
PS: Once again, thank you for this amazing month... we're not slowing down! The next devlogs will be more focused, diving into specific gameplay elements and behind-the-scenes insights. ***And if you can’t wait, hop into our Discord! The channels where we discuss development are open to the community, so you can follow everything as it happens + take part in the playtests.
We tried recording this devlog as a video, but every single time we were so exhausted that it turned out like total crap... We’ll try again a few more times in the future, so keep your fingers crossed!
Nick & Dominik
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Oh, and one more important thing! The steam store page (specifically the assets on it) is already quite outdated, since IRON NEST has gone through a lot of visual iterations since then. The updated page will most likely go live alongside the trailer and the demo, around the time of the Next Fest, where we plan to release the demo (pssst... there are constant development leaks popping up on Discord)!