A Community-Driven Success: The "Iron Nest" Phenomenon

At Digital Dragons, one of Central Europe's most significant video game events, we chatted with Dominik Nieuwoudt, co-creator and marketing manager for Iron Nest. Developed by a tiny international team of just two people (a Pole and a Greek living in Spain), Iron Nest is an original heavy artillery simulator with strategic mechanics and a dystopian dieselpunk aesthetic.

Despite a zero-dollar marketing budget, the game has become a small case study in the industry. During playtests, it attracted over 10,000 players, generating peaks of over 10,000 Steam wishlist additions per day. In this interview, Dominik tells us how a radically "community-driven" approach – where players, dubbed "operators," directly enter the development process via Discord – allowed the project to compete in a saturated market, leading the team to choose self-publishing to maintain this unique connection. Future plans, in addition to the imminent PC launch, include console conversions, a VR version, and even a multiplayer sequel for 2027.

The Digital Dragons Experience and Gameplay Reveal

How was your conference?

To be honest, for me, the first day started with a speech. I gave a talk on marketing and visibility for video games. Of course, I was invited on the wave of Iron Nest's "success," although I'm not sure if it can already be called that, given that the most important part – the release – has yet to happen. But for now, it's going really well.

Tell us about Iron Nest. What kind of game is it, and what are your ambitions?

The most important part of Iron Nest is the community behind it. That's the soul of the game, and I want to thank our "operators," because without them, Iron Nest wouldn't exist. Otherwise, the explanation is in the name: it's a heavy turret simulator. It's a ground artillery simulation with a dieselpunk aesthetic, set in a heavily dystopian world.

What are the main features? What's the "twist" that makes players say, "Okay, this is cool"?

The game is divided into exactly two parts: 50% simulation and 50% strategy. In the strategic part, you receive orders from high command via a teletype; then you do all the calculations on an interactive tactical map to plan the mission strategy. Only then do you move on to the pure simulation part.

If we were to summarize the gameplay loop: you read the orders, use the tactical map to measure distances and coordinates, input the data into the ballistic calculator to determine the turret's elevation, load the correct amount of gunpowder, and choose the projectile type based on the target. Finally, you rotate the turret, set the elevation, and fire. That's where the fun comes in.

It almost sounds like you need an engineering degree! There's a lot of study before you even fire. Was there a risk that such an elaborate tactical approach would scare off casual players? How did you avoid this "wall"?

To be perfectly honest... we didn't avoid it! At first, we thought it would be a niche game and we accepted that; we weren't aiming for the mainstream. We were surprised when, after publishing the first videos, we saw so many people drawn to the project. At the beginning of the year, we did an open playtest, and more than 8,000 players participated. The surprising thing was discovering that the tactical map (the strategic part) entertained people as much as the visual simulation. When we realized this, we started showing more of the map in our marketing materials, and people fell in love with it. Now we can breathe a sigh of relief: we know the audience wants both souls of the game.

The Community Bond and the Choice of Self-Publishing

You've often mentioned the community, which is huge despite the game not being released yet. What's your daily relationship with them like?

Every single aspect of Iron Nest is tied to the community. Even the highest commercial peak we had – over 10,000 wishlists in a single day – came about thanks to content created by the community during playtests. We firmly believe in making a user-driven project. Being only two people, we can't let the community choose everything, otherwise it would be chaos, but whenever we have a doubt or an important idea, we ask them. We give them a chance to test it and decide based on their feedback.

Do you share every new mechanic as you integrate it, or do you do periodic presentations?

We have constant internal playtests. On a daily basis, there are about 1,000 active players testing every new update, telling us what they think, and helping us find bugs. We call our users "operators." Without them, we wouldn't be here. In the larger studios I've worked for in the past, there's a lot of talk about "community-driven" games, but it's almost impossible to achieve because there are too many filters. My partner Nick, who handles development, is constantly on Discord with them; players literally have access to his brain, they brainstorm together. They've become an integral part of the development.

You're a small team and currently don't have a publisher. Do you think you'll be able to maintain this close relationship if you find one in the future?

This is one of the main reasons we decided to self-publish. I don't underestimate good publishers; I know they could help us in many areas where we, due to lack of resources, only utilize 20% of the opportunities. However, for example, I personally respond to every single comment on our social media, I talk to thousands of people. If we took on a publisher, the first thing we'd have to give up would be social media and marketing management. I can't imagine maintaining this close cooperation by adding another link in the chain between us and the community.

The Challenges of an Indie Team and Future Plans

You're a very small team, but the video game industry (especially in Poland) is huge and almost saturated. What are the main challenges to stand out?

A small clarification: we are not a Polish team. I am Polish, but Nick is Greek, lived in the United States, and now lives in Barcelona, Spain. We're a good mix!

Regarding the challenges: when you're the newcomer, you have no marketing budget and you can't afford mistakes. You have to do everything twice as fast and twice as well as others. It's terrifying. We've been lucky, and so far we've spent zero dollars on marketing (in fact, we're at minus 1,350 dollars because we won an award for best trailer!). The lesson of Iron Nest is that if you consider development a hobby, you only think about the code, but if you consider it a business, you have to dedicate 50% of your time to the game and 50% to the community and marketing from the early stages. Before launch, people connect with the "fantasy" and promises of the game, not the game itself, because they can't play it yet.

To conclude, what is the future of Iron Nest? What are the planned milestones and platforms?

On June 15th at 10:00 AM (Pacific time), we will release the demo during the Steam Next Fest, and on that occasion, we will announce the official release date, scheduled for July or August on PC. As for consoles, the ideal goal is to release the versions within 3 or 4 months after the PC launch. VR is also on the table because the community is strongly requesting it, and we want to do it, but the technical timelines are still to be confirmed (we always hope within 3-4 months of the PC launch).

Furthermore, we will regularly support the game with DLCs. As soon as we complete this turret simulator, we will start working on a twin project in the same universe, but focused on cooperative multiplayer. We expect to release this second title in mid-2027. And if we manage to develop good netcode technology, there's a possibility (for now a question mark) of retroactively implementing co-op mode in the first game as well.