
Release Date: June 6, 2016
The fourth major installment in a series of larg-scale strategy games, which originated in 2002 as a spin-off to the popular Europa Universalis series. Both franchises are consistently developed by Paradox Interactive. The game lets you take the lead of a country from the World War II period and beyond, specifically the years 1936-1948.
Hearts of Iron IV is the next installment of the popular strategy game series in which the player conducts the politics of one of the countries from the war and interwar period – the timeline of the game is set between 1936 and 1948. It is up to the player to choose the appropriate strategy and foreign policy and to keep up with enemies in the arms race of the 20th century world. The game was made by the Swedish studio Paradox Development, known widely for its complex, historically themed strategy games. The company, with its main office in Stockholm, produced and released such titles as the Europa Universalis series, Crusader Kings – in many ways similar to the previously mentioned titles – and the Hearts of Iron series. The newest installment uses the same engine as Europa Universalis IV and provides a new, refreshed and clearer User Interface.
The distinguishing feature of the forth installment in the Hearts of Iron series, just like in the case of the previous releases, is the very accurate recreation of history, together with the full freedom of creating an alternate future. In Hearts of Iron IV players will meet many real historical characters of World War II (Prime Ministers, Army Commanders and other political and military figures); the armies and technologies of each country are also perfectly accurate. You will also come across countless historical events in the form of smaller quests that you can choose by yourself, which can be considered the next steps in the long journey of your country. The completion of said missions will result in quick injections of Diplomatic Power points – another novelty, added in the fourth Hearts of Iron game. A constant backup of points will be necessary, e.g. to influence ministers of the government or to choose further quests in your campaign.
Just like in the previous games of the series, the players can control a country actively engaged in the war effort, like France or Great Britain; they can choose to take a back seat as one of the nations whose political situation is not as obvious as a state of open war, e.g. one of the South American countries. The developers of the game put a lot of effort into reducing the need for micromanagement – a major issue in the previous installments of the series – allowing the player to focus more on the overall strategy and worry less about the specific tactics and movements of every individual army or unit. The possibility of converging several provinces into a region was also introduced into the game, making it easier to manage different parts of your country and its newly conquered territories. The addition of seasons and the day and night cycle gives the game a lot of depth, as you need to carefully plan for the ever-changing weather in order to make sure that you will be the one to prevail on the battlefield.
Platforms:
PC Windows
Developer: Paradox Development Studio
Publisher: Paradox Interactive
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A series of RTSs of the grand strategy type, behind which is the Paradox Development Studio team. We are talking about the developers who have in their portfolio, among others, such brands as Crusader Kings, Victoria and Europa Universalis.
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Last update: July 6, 2016
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Top downloads for Hearts of Iron IV Video Game:
mod Hearts of Iron IV - Millennium Dawn: Expanded v.1.3.1 - November 6, 2017
mod Hearts of Iron IV - The Great War v.0.25 - November 16, 2025
trainer Hearts of Iron IV - v1.6.2 +24 Trainer - April 15, 2019
trainer Hearts of Iron IV - v1.5.4 +23 Trainer - August 20, 2018
mod Hearts of Iron IV - Alternative History - July 28, 2016
mod Hearts of Iron IV - Endsieg: Ultimate Victory v.0.1 - September 4, 2017
mod Hearts of Iron IV - 1949 Iron Wall v.0.62 - March 19, 2017
mod Hearts of Iron IV - A Brave World v.Alpha 0.7 - September 20, 2019
trainer Hearts of Iron IV - v1.0 - v1.3.0 +10 TRAINER - December 19, 2016
trainer Hearts of Iron IV - v1.10.4 +12 Trainer - February 12, 2021
System Requirements for Hearts of Iron IV Video Game:
PC / Windows
Minimum System Requirements:
Intel Core i5-750 2.66 GHz / AMD FX-4300 3.8 GHz, 4 GB RAM, graphic card 1280 MB GeForce GTX 470 / 1 GB Radeon HD 5850 or better, 2 GB HDD, Windows 7/8.1/10 64-bit.
Recommended System Requirements:
Intel Core i5-2500K 3.3 GHz / AMD Ryzen 3 2200G 3.5 GHz, 6 GB RAM, graphic card 1280 MB GeForce GTX 570 / 3 GB Radeon HD 7970 or better, 2 GB HDD, Windows 10 64-bit.
List of Game Expansions for Video Game:

Expansion
November 20, 2025
Strategy
The tenth big expansion for the grand strategy from Paradox Development Studio. Hearts of Iron IV: No Compromise, No Surrender focuses on Japan, China and the Philippines, introducing national goals for these countries.
Steam

Expansion
May 15, 2025
Strategy
A smaller unit expansion for the 2016 grand strategy game from Paradox Interactive. Hearts of Iron IV: Prototype Vehicles Unit Pack introduces various World War 2 machines and vehicles which never entered production and remained as designs and sketches. The add-on features land, sea and water units.
Steam

Expansion
March 4, 2025
Strategy
A DLC featuring new nations for the popular strategy from Paradox Development Studio. Hearts of Iron IV: Graveyard of Empires introduces national focus trees for Iran, India, Iraq and Afganistan. This comes along with their unique graphics, leader portraits and three-dimensional unit models.
Steam

Expansion
November 14, 2024
Strategy
The tenth large expansion for the World War 2 strategy from Paradox Interactive. Hearts of Iron IV: Gotterdammerung allows us to change the course of history by creating new political and military alliances involving Germany, Austria, Hungary, and Belgium.
Steam
Users

Expansion
March 7, 2024
Strategy
The ninth major expansion to a 2016 WW2 strategy game. Hearts of Iron IV: Trial of Allegiance is set in South America, having us lead new nations (such as Brazil, Argentina and Chile) to greatness.
Steam
Users

Expansion
October 10, 2023
Strategy
The eighth major expansion to the strategy game Hearts of Iron IV. Hearts of Iron IV: Arms Against Tyranny focuses on three Northern European countries - Finland, Norway, Denmark and Sweden - trying to survive World War II.
Steam
Users

Expansion
September 27, 2022
Strategy
The seventh major add-on to the strategy game Hearts of Iron IV. HoI4 By Blood Alone focuses on Italy, Switzerland and Ethiopia and introduces, among other things, a special aircraft creator in which we can create our own fighters or bombers.
Steam
Users

Expansion
November 23, 2021
Strategy
The next expansion to the fourth main installment of the Hearts of Iron series. No Step Back focuses on the Eastern Front of World War II, increasing the ability to command countries such as Poland, the USSR and Estonia.
Steam
Users

Expansion
February 25, 2020
Strategy
Hearts of Iron IV: La Resistance is the fifth expansion to Paradox Interactive's second-wave global strategy. The patch introduces into the game the possibility of conducting spying actions by resistance movements.
Steam
Users

Expansion
February 28, 2019
Strategy
Hearts of Iron IV: Man the Guns is an expansion to a strategy game developed by Paradox. This is not a standalone DLC, as it requires the base game to work and it expands the naval aspects of the game by implementing new options for designing and upgrading ships. Moreover, the game introduces new sea routes.
Steam
Users

Expansion
March 8, 2018
Strategy
The third expansion to strategy game Hearts of Iron IV. Developers introduced new content for China and modified national objective trees for Japan and the Third Reich, allowing e.g. to remove Hitler from power and the German Empire.
Steam
Users

Expansion
June 14, 2017
Strategy
A second DLC for the real-time strategy game Hearts of Iron IV. Created by Paradox Development Studio, the Death or Dishonor add-on focuses on four European countries, namely: Hungary, Romania, Yugoslavia and Czechoslovakia, which after the outbreak of the WWII were caught between the hammer and the anvil – the Third Reich and the USSR. In the expansion, the aforementioned countries receive all new and unique National Focus trees allowing the players to lead the country they choose taking one of the available paths. The four new countries also deliver new events and assets, such as leader portraits, 3D vehicle models, soldier dialogues, and pieces of soundtrack. Also arriving in Death or Dishonor are features like Equipment Conversion (making it possible for the players to upgrade their arsenal by using their older units, or utilizing captured enemy units), and the option to license military technology from other countries or license one’s tech to other governments. Also, the diplomatic features of the game have been developed by fascist countries getting new subject levels like Reichskommissariat, which hold the occupied nations in an iron grip.
Steam
Users

Expansion
December 15, 2016
Strategy
The first large expansion for Hearts of Iron IV – the fourth installment of the popular grand strategy game series created by Paradox Interactive. The add-on, called Together for Victory, focuses on introducing new functions connected with British Commonwealth and the countries that were a part of it during World War II. This results in, among others, new national development trees for Australia, Canada, New Zealand, South Africa, and India, complemented by historical figures and companies, while the whole add-on was designed to either replay the real course of war, or allow a completely abnormal, abstract scenario to play out. Thanks to a new autonomy system, the players can set various levels of dependency of subjected nations, and expand upon some of the national ideas, resulting in useful bonuses and technologies. The Commonwealth nations can share technologies, as well as ask their allies to lease them various equipment.
OpenCritic
Steam
Users
List of Game Add-Ons and DLCs for Video Game:
DLC Eastern Front Planes Pack June 3, 2021
DLC Battle for the Bosporus October 15, 2020
DLC Allied Armor Pack June 4, 2020
DLC Axis Armor Pack June 4, 2019
DLC Anniversary Pack June 6, 2017
DLC Radio Pack June 6, 2016
Game Ratings for Hearts of Iron IV Video Game.
Hearts of Iron IV Review – The Art of War
After seven long years, Hearts of Iron makes a big comeback. Ladies and gentlemen, the season for sleepless nights full of orders, international schemes, and endless taste of defeat is now officially open!
DualShockers: 9 / 10 by Giuseppe Nelva
On the other hand, if you want a massive, extremely fulfilling and rewarding simulation of World War II, then this game is a giant cornucopia of conflicts, engaging politics, management gameplay and pure fun. And when you’re tired of World War II, you’ll have endless alternate history scenarios to explore. Just make sure to go to work or school in the morning, because if Hearts of Iron IV really clicks with you, it won’t let go easily.
Hardcore Gamer: 4.5 / 5 by Sean Hannley
Hearts of Iron IV is an easy recommendation for grand strategy fans of all ages and encourages them to take the time to figure everything out.
PC Invasion: 7 / 10 by Peter Parrish
It demands dedication (unless you’re a series vet) and neither AI nor UI are exactly flawless, but once you’re entrenched Hearts of Iron IV reveals itself as a capable and absorbing alt-history WW2 generator.
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