PCGame

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

SimulationStrategy

Reviews trending down: 66% positive in the last 30 days vs 79% overall

Reviews
Mostly Positive
79% of 355K
Recent reviews
Mixed
66% of 1,905 in 30 days
Players
29K
daily peak, Nov 7, 2026
Steam Deck
Playable
Last update on Steam
2 days ago
Nov 5, 2026
Minimum PC
GTX 470
4 GB RAM · 2 GB disk
Full requirements

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

79% of 354,946 reviews are positive · 66% of 1,905 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.

Players over time

▲ +2% vs a month ago

Players online on Steam, one sample a day.

Highest since Sep 2026: 41,462 players on Sep 21, 2026.

Show the data
DayPlayers
Nov 7, 202629,247
Nov 6, 202619,826
Nov 5, 202619,356
Nov 4, 202619,860
Nov 3, 202621,257
Nov 2, 202621,267
Nov 1, 202630,406
Oct 31, 202630,317
Oct 30, 202620,669
Oct 29, 202619,540
Oct 28, 202619,689
Oct 27, 202619,718
Oct 26, 202620,494
Oct 25, 202629,514
Oct 24, 202626,102
Oct 23, 202619,818
Oct 22, 202619,138
Oct 21, 202619,038
Oct 20, 202619,058
Oct 19, 202620,489
Oct 18, 202627,910
Oct 17, 202626,546
Oct 16, 202619,377
Oct 15, 202619,441
Oct 14, 202619,160
Oct 13, 202619,943
Oct 12, 202622,348
Oct 11, 202627,796
Oct 10, 202624,235
Oct 9, 202620,820
Oct 8, 202619,418
Oct 7, 202621,296
Oct 6, 202621,422
Oct 5, 202623,230
Oct 4, 202627,191
Oct 3, 202625,648
Oct 2, 202621,384
Oct 1, 202622,167
Sep 30, 202619,708
Sep 29, 202620,084
Sep 28, 202621,226
Sep 27, 202627,574
Sep 26, 202626,750
Sep 25, 202624,983
Sep 24, 202620,456
Sep 23, 202628,393
Sep 23, 202620,438
Sep 22, 202620,994
Sep 21, 202641,462

Screenshots and trailer

Hearts of Iron IV screenshot 1

Hearts of Iron IV system requirements

Minimum: GTX 470, 4 GB RAM, 2 GB of disk space.

As published by the developer.

Can my PC run Hearts of Iron IV?

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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.

Does Hearts of Iron IV have co-op or multiplayer?

Yes: co-op (mode not specified). It also has a single-player mode. Crossplay with other platforms is declared.

Does Hearts of Iron IV run on Steam Deck?

Playable Playable: it runs on Steam Deck with some adjustments.

  • 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

PC version details

DRM
None declared on Steam
Controller
Keyboard and mouse
Platforms
Windows, macOS, Linux
Achievements
293
Steam features
Workshop, Cloud saves, Family Sharing, Trading cards
Languages
Text only: English, French, German, Polish, Portuguese - Brazil, Russian, Spanish - Spain, Japanese, Simplified Chinese, Korean.

Does Hearts of Iron IV use AI-generated content?

No AI-generated content is disclosed on the game's Steam page.

Self-reported by the developer under Steam rules: it covers AI content that ships in the game, not tools used to make it. Steam page checked on Nov 6, 2026. How to filter AI games on Steam

Tags

Recent updates

24 DLC available.

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