If you missed Markiplier's Iron Lung during its theatrical run, the wait is almost over. Mark Fischbach confirmed at the Cannes Film Festival that the film will hit YouTube Movies & TV on May 31 as a paid release, giving everyone who skipped theaters a chance to finally see what all the fuss is about.
Iron Lung's claustrophobic set
The announcement came via Deadline's Cannes coverage, where Fischbach explained his platform loyalty plainly: he's "pretty loyal" to YouTube. That tracks. His entire career was built on the platform, so landing his directorial debut there as an exclusive feels less like a business decision and more like a homecoming.
Pay less for your games.
Get discounts up to 80% off
What you're actually paying for
Here's the thing: this isn't the free Markiplier content you're used to. Iron Lung will be a paid title on YouTube's Movies & TV storefront, priced in line with standard new digital releases, which typically run between $19.99 and $29.99 at launch. The exact price hasn't been confirmed yet, but you'll want to check the storefront closer to May 31 for the final number.
A physical release (DVD and Blu-ray) is also in the pipeline. Fischbach teased that back in February, though no firm date has been attached to it since.
The game that started it all
For anyone unfamiliar with the source material, Iron Lung began as a short horror game released in 2022 by David Szymanski, the developer behind Dusk. The premise is as stripped-down as horror gets: you play a convict piloting a submarine through an ocean of blood on an alien moon, with nothing but a camera and increasingly disturbing photographs to guide you. No weapons. No combat. Just dread.
Fischbach's film stays remarkably faithful to that setup. He wrote, directed, self-funded, and starred in it as the main character Simon. For a movie built on such a confined concept, that level of personal investment shows.
The original Iron Lung game is available on Steam and takes roughly 30 minutes to complete. Playing it before watching the film adds a layer of context that's hard to get otherwise.
A box office story nobody predicted
Iron Lung opened in theaters on January 30 and quietly became one of the more remarkable box office stories in recent memory. On a budget of roughly $3 to $4 million, the film grossed over $50 million. For context, that's the kind of return that makes studio executives rethink what a "marketable" film actually looks like.
Movies from YouTubers have a genuinely mixed track record, which made Iron Lung's performance all the more striking. Critics responded positively, and Polygon called it "claustrophobic" and "immersive" while arguing the broader film industry should pay attention to how Fischbach pulled it off.
Iron Lung theatrical release poster
What comes next for Markiplier
Fischbach isn't treating Iron Lung as a one-off experiment. At Cannes, he mentioned he'll start "working on something" in 2027, though no further details were shared. Given how Iron Lung performed, there's real interest in what he does next.
For now, May 31 is the date to mark. If you want to explore more horror and indie gaming content in the meantime, the gaming guides section at covers a wide range of titles worth your time before the film drops.
