Ironhide Game Studio, the team behind the spectacular, award-winning Kingdom Rush trilogy of tower defense games has just announced a September 14th release date for their long-anticipated next franchise, Iron Marines.

Instead of going with another tower defense game, this time around Ironhide has designed a sci-fi, fast action RTS game in which players take control of a troop of Iron Marines. Tasked with defending the galaxy, they must lead them on dangerous missions to do battle with countless alien invaders.

Whether in the midst of a meteor storm or exploring a base invaded by alien creatures, the Iron Marines have what it takes to achieve victory. Protect your bases with the most advanced defense towers while spraying your enemies with bullets, missiles and laser rays.

Recruit and train the greatest heroes in the galaxy, lead them into dangerous missions against near impossible odds and unleash their mighty powers and abilities. Adapt your strategy by changing the role of your troops even in the thick of the combat, from ranger to sniper, from flamethrowers to missile launchers. Turn the tide of battle with bomb strikes, intelligent mines, support troops, turrets and a wide range of special weapons.

Ironhide set the gold standard when it comes to mobile tower defense games and now they look like they’ll be putting their indelible mark on the RTS genre as well.

I was fortunate enough to play an early build of Iron Marines at PAX East 2016 and I’ve been eagerly awaiting its release ever since. The game features a massive tech tree “of over 50 UPGRADES for your units and bases” and was a blast to play. I can’t wait to see how the entire game has been fleshed out since my demo.

Iron Marines is most-definitely a title to keep an eye out for next month.