Ironbound

Early development. The game is playable and changing every day; expect rough edges.

Free for everyone

Download

Ironbound is free and open source. Pick your system, unzip, and run the game. There is no installer and nothing else to sign up for.

Download Ironbound

Latest release
Windows 64-bit, Windows 10 or later Linux x86_64, needs Vulkan macOS Intel and Apple Silicon
These builds are not code-signed, so your system will warn you the first time. Windows: click More info, then Run anyway. macOS: right-click the app, choose Open, then Open again (on macOS 15, use Open Anyway in Privacy & Security). Each release lists SHA-256 checksums so you can check the file. Why unsigned?

Free, no account, no installer: unzip and play. Run from source · All releases

First run

Windows

  1. Unzip Ironbound-windows-x86_64.zip anywhere, for example your Desktop.
  2. Open the folder and double-click Ironbound.exe.
  3. If a blue box says Windows protected your PC, click More info, then Run anyway.

Linux

  1. Unzip Ironbound-linux-x86_64.zip.
  2. Run ./Ironbound.x86_64 from the folder. If it will not start, run chmod +x Ironbound.x86_64 first.

macOS

  1. Unzip Ironbound-macos-universal.zip and move the app inside (Ironbound.app) to Applications.
  2. Right-click (or Control-click) the app, choose Open, then Open again.
  3. On macOS 15 or later, try to open it once, then go to System Settings › Privacy & Security and click Open Anyway.

In the game, press F1 any time for the manual.

Why your system warns you

Windows and macOS trust apps signed with a paid certificate from Microsoft or Apple. Ironbound is a free hobby project, so its builds are not signed, and both systems show a warning the first time you start it. The game is the same either way.

Every build is made by GitHub Actions straight from the public source code, so anyone can see exactly what went into it. If you would rather not run an unsigned app, you can run the game from source with Godot.

Check your download

Each release has a SHA256SUMS.txt file. Compare its line for your zip with the hash of the file you downloaded:

SystemCommand
Windows (PowerShell)Get-FileHash Ironbound-windows-x86_64.zip -Algorithm SHA256
Linuxsha256sum -c SHA256SUMS.txt --ignore-missing
macOSshasum -a 256 Ironbound-macos-universal.zip

System requirements

Minimum
SystemWindows 10 or 11 (64-bit), a 64-bit Linux desktop, or a recent macOS on Intel or Apple Silicon
GraphicsA GPU with Vulkan, Direct3D 12 or Metal support (most cards from 2016 on)
Memory4 GB RAM; 8 GB for big four-player maps
DiskAbout 150 MB unzipped
Screen1280×720 or larger, mouse and keyboard

Run from source

  1. Install Godot 4.7 (the standard build, not .NET).
  2. Download the source: git clone https://github.com/destinjones/godot-open-rts.git, or use Code › Download ZIP on GitHub.
  3. Open Godot, choose Import, pick the project.godot file, and press F5 to play.

To make your own release zips, run tools/release/export.sh with Godot's export templates installed.

Play in the browser?

Not yet. A browser version is possible with Godot's web export, but it needs the simpler web renderer and work on performance first. It is on the roadmap for later.