Hearts of Iron IV
World War II grand strategy with detailed national war planning
Paradox Development Studio · Published by Paradox Interactive · Released Jun 6, 2016
- Reviews
- Very Positive
- 90% of 377K
- Recent reviews
- Very Positive
- 87% of 2,028 in 30 days
- Playing now
- 28K
- right now
- Steam Deck
- Playable
- Last update
- 5 days ago
- Sep 17, 2026
Metacritic: 83/100 (critic reviews)
What is Hearts of Iron IV?
A World War II grand strategy simulation where you lead a nation through a campaign. You manage industry, research, diplomacy, politics, army designs, and military operations, while historical and alternate-history choices shape events.
For you if...
- +you enjoy complex strategy systems with a long learning curve
- +you want detailed control over industry, politics, and warfare
- +you want both solo and multiplayer grand strategy
Not for you if...
- −you prefer short, straightforward strategy games
- −you want a historically fixed campaign without alternate paths
- −you expect all major systems in the base game
What players say
90% of 377,107 reviews are positive · 87% of 2,028 in the last 30 days
Players praise the strategic depth and say there is still more to learn after long playtimes. They frequently describe a steep learning curve, especially for naval systems. The dominant complaint is that important mechanics and country content are divided among costly DLC, leaving the base game feeling incomplete.
Screenshots and trailer
Hearts of Iron IV system requirements
As published by the developer.
Minimum
- OS
- Windows® 10 Home 64 Bit
- Processor
- Intel® Core™ i5 750 | AMD® FX 4300
- Graphics
- Nvidia® GeForce™ GTX 470 (1.28GB) | AMD® HD 5850 (1GB) | Intel Iris Xe G7 (Tiger Lake) | AMD® Radeon™ RX Vega 11
- Memory
- 4 GB RAM
- Storage
- 2 GB available space
- DirectX
- Version 9.0c
- Notes
- Mouse and keyboard are required. / Latest available WHQL drivers from both manufacturers/ Internet Connection or LAN for multiplayer, Up to 32 other players in multiplayer mode.
Recommended
- OS
- Windows® 10 Home 64 bit
- Processor
- Intel® Core™ i5 2500K | AMD® Ryzen 3 2200G
- Graphics
- Nvidia® GeForce™ GTX 570 (1.28GB) | AMD® Radeon™ HD 7970 (3GB) | Intel Iris Xe G7 (Tiger Lake)
- Memory
- 6 GB RAM
- Storage
- 2 GB available space
- DirectX
- Version 9.0c
- Notes
- Mouse and keyboard are required. / Latest available WHQL drivers from both manufacturers. / Internet Connection or LAN for multiplayer, Up to 32 other players in multiplayer mode.
PC version details
DRM, required accounts, controller support and Steam features.
- DRM
- None declared on Steam
- Controller
- Keyboard and mouse
- Platforms
- Windows, macOS, Linux
- Achievements
- 293
- Steam features
- Workshop, Cloud saves, Family Sharing, Trading cards
Steam Deck: Playable
- Sometimes shows mouse, keyboard or non-Deck controller icons
- Some text entry requires manually opening the on-screen keyboard
- Some in-game text is small and may be hard to read
- All functionality is accessible with the default controller configuration
- Default graphics settings perform well on Steam Deck
Multiplayer and co-op
Languages
Text only: English, French, German, Polish, Portuguese - Brazil, Russian, Spanish - Spain, Japanese, Simplified Chinese, Korean.
Tags
- Strategy
- World War II
- Grand Strategy
- War
- Historical
- Military
- Alternate History
- Multiplayer
- Simulation
- Tactical
- Singleplayer
- RTS
- Real-Time with Pause
- Diplomacy
- Sandbox
- Co-op
Recent updates
- Sep 17, 2026 · HOI IV | Patch 1.19.3
- Sep 4, 2026 · Studio Gold Update | September 2026
- Aug 28, 2026 · HOI IV | Open Beta SE™ Update 3.03
- Aug 12, 2026 · HOI IV | Open Beta SE™ Update 2
- Jul 13, 2026 · HOI IV - Open Beta SE™ Update 1
24 DLC available.
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