Hearts of Iron IV
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About this game
Hearts of Iron IV is a grand strategy game about World War II in which you can lead any nation during the period from 1936 to 1948. The game covers the key conflicts of the era from the invasions of the 1930s to the climax of the global war and gives you the power to change history. There are two starting scenarios set in January 1936 or August 1939. You can play in historical mode where countries follow real events or in an alternate mode where nations choose any available paths.
The project blends deep military simulation with economic and political management. You will handle arms production, research new technologies, prepare armies and fleets, then design strategic plans for battles on land, at sea, and in the air.
The game is praised for its scale and attention to detail. It is one of the most comprehensive World War II strategies on PC and can captivate fans of history and tactics.
- Release date
- June 6, 2016
- Developer / Publisher
- Paradox Development Studio and Paradox Interactive
- Platform
- PC (Windows)
- Multiplayer
- online or co-op, up to 32 players
- Edition
- Ultimate Bundle (the most complete collection of expansions to date)
- Version
- 1.19.2.0 (July 1, 2026)
- Languages
- English, French, German, Russian
Show all languages (9)
Language support Language Interface / Subtitles Audio English French German Russian Polish Brazilian Portuguese Spanish Japanese Chinese (Simplified)
- Global scope: you run an entire country and make state-level decisions from diplomacy to economics with coverage of all theaters of war around the world.
- Flexible history: a historical mode with real events is available along with a sandbox of alternate history where every nation can follow its own path. You can change a state’s ideology or the outcome of major wars.
- National Focuses: a unique country development system with a decision tree. Completing national focuses grants bonuses, events, or war goals that guide your strategy. Great powers such as the USSR, Germany, and the USA have their own focus branches and expansions add new trees for many other countries.
- Deep mechanics: advanced systems of politics and diplomacy including creating alliances and factions, espionage, resource trade, and ideology management. Each nation can choose a course such as democracy, communism, fascism, or neutrality which affects its diplomatic options and military aims.
- Military strategy: thoughtful management of army, navy, and air force. You can customize divisions, assign generals and admirals, and draw offensive plans on a map with real terrain. Supply and logistics matter including railways and convoys. Fuel and resources play a role. Combat happens in real time with pause. You can stop time at any moment to issue orders and adjust plans.
Trailer:
Hearts of Iron IV combines large-scale strategic planning with attention to detail. You begin in one of two dates the calm of early 1936 or the brink of war in 1939 and choose any country from great powers to small states. Your goal is up to you. Pursue world domination, join a historical alliance such as the Allies or the Axis, or try to survive alone by maneuvering between stronger neighbors.
War is the core of the experience. You plan operations by forming armies and fleets, assigning commanders, and drawing front lines. The offensive planning system lets you mark attack directions and AI field marshals help execute the plan while considering supply and enemy fortifications. Naval and air warfare are detailed as well. Fleets patrol and fight for control of sea lanes. Air forces provide support or conduct strategic bombing.
Gameplay trailer:
Expansions
Since its 2016 release Hearts of Iron IV has received many DLC packs that greatly expand the game. They add new scenarios, improved mechanics, and unique options for different countries. The full list of major expansions includes Together for Victory, Death or Dishonor, Waking the Tiger, Man the Guns, La Résistance, Battle for the Bosporus, No Step Back, By Blood Alone, Arms Against Tyranny, Trial of Allegiance, Götterdämmerung, and Graveyard of Empires.
Key additions and their highlights:
- Together for Victory (2016) focuses on the nations of the British Commonwealth. It adds unique focus trees for Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and British Raj along with a colony autonomy system and improved mechanics for relations between metropole and subjects.
- Death or Dishonor (2017) centers on Eastern Europe. It provides new national focuses for Hungary, Romania, Yugoslavia, and Czechoslovakia. It also introduces equipment licensing so you can buy licenses to produce foreign weapons along with new diplomatic actions.
- Waking the Tiger (2018) expands the war in Asia. It adds content for China both Nationalist and Communist and the Manchukuo puppet, a shared focus tree, and alternate historical branches for Japan and Germany. It also improves general mechanics and strategic decisions and adds new ways to manage your forces.
- Man the Guns (2019) revamps naval warfare. It introduces a ship designer so you can build warships to your requirements, adds fuel as a resource, and brings new focuses and events for naval powers such as the USA, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and Mexico. Naval battles and convoys become deeper with more fleet upgrades and new naval doctrines.
- La Résistance (2020) is the espionage expansion. It adds a full intelligence system that lets you recruit agents, conduct sabotage, and gather enemy information. The resistance system on occupied territories is overhauled so you must manage unrest and fight partisans. New focus trees arrive for France including Free France and Vichy, for Spain with branches for the Civil War sides, and for Portugal.
- Battle for the Bosporus (2020) is a smaller pack focused on the Balkans and Turkey. It adds unique national focuses for Turkey, Greece, and Bulgaria which enrich playthroughs for these regional powers and enable alternative scenarios on the Balkan Peninsula.
- No Step Back (2021) is a major Eastern Front expansion. Its headline features are the tank designer and expanded logistics with railways, armored trains, and massive railway guns. It reworks focus trees for the USSR and Poland, adds new branches for the Baltic states Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, and introduces a general staff system for army control.
- By Blood Alone (2022) focuses on aviation and Italy. It adds an aircraft designer to create and upgrade planes and reworks peace conferences after wars to give victors more options for borders and reparations. It includes a new focus tree for Italy with alternative paths and unique focuses for Switzerland and Ethiopia.
- Arms Against Tyranny (2023) targets Scandinavia and Northern Europe. It adds national focuses for Finland, Sweden, Norway, and Denmark with Iceland separated which lets you play the region in detail including the Winter War. It also introduces an international arms trade system and expands special forces options.
- Trial of Allegiance (2024) highlights South America. For the first time the game gets unique focus trees for Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay, and Uruguay. The region can follow alternate scenarios from unifying South America into a bloc to resisting global superpowers.
- Götterdämmerung (2024) adds new mechanics for special projects and military raids and refreshes European content. It includes reworked focuses for Germany and Hungary and new national trees for Austria, Belgium, and even Congo which broadens alternate history in Europe and Africa.
- Graveyard of Empires (2025) focuses on the Middle East. It adds unique focuses for Iran, Iraq, and Afghanistan and lets these nations pursue their own paths. The focus tree for British Raj is also heavily updated to reflect events in South Asia.
All of the expansions listed are included in the Hearts of Iron IV edition available for free download through 7Launcher on our website. You get the full game with all DLC and a wealth of content and options. Enjoy the deep gameplay of Hearts of Iron IV, build your alternate history, and test your strategic skills in one of the most complex war simulators of today.
Minimum:
- OS: Windows 10 (64-bit)
- Processor: Intel Core i5-750 / AMD FX-4300
- Memory: 4 GB
- Graphics: GeForce GTX 470 (2 GB) / Radeon HD 5850 (1 GB) / Intel Iris Xe G7 (Tiger Lake) / Radeon RX Vega 11
- Storage: 10 GB
Recommended:
- OS: Windows 11 (64-bit)
- Processor: Intel Core i5-2500K / AMD Ryzen 3 2200G
- Memory: 6 GB
- Graphics: GeForce GTX 570 (2 GB) / Radeon HD 7970 (3 GB) / Intel Iris Xe G7 (Tiger Lake)
- Storage: 10 GB
Download Hearts of Iron IV (HOI4) with all add-ons
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Reviews
I am a 38 y/o father, probably one of the oldest people playing this game. I am a single father to my son, who is now 16. Samuel got this game for Christmas in 2021 from his uncle, so we installed it on his computer and started playing. By the end of the week he had 24 hours on this game. This was horrible for me, as it was already hard for me to find ways to spend time with him, for he is always out with his friends or just watching people play on YouTube.
I had him create a Steam account for me, and purchased this title to see if I could perhaps play alongside him. I loaded into the game, chose my nation, and started playing, except I was stuck on what you were supposed to do. I asked Samuel for help, and he hosted a multiplayer match so that I could join. I loved it as it was the best time I had spent with my son since his mother passed away due to C-19. Hearts of Iron IV has since then, brought me and my adolescent son closer again, to the point he’s found the enthusiasm to join me for fishing trips to our local lake. This purchase, albeit perhaps insignificant to some, has reminded me how there is fun to be had in video games despite my age. I just wish I had more time to play with him at home, though for now I’ll settle for hotseat matches on his account; sometimes we argue about which focus tree to take next!
You’re not going to know what the heck you’re doing.
Keep playing.
You’re going to get rekt from not knowing what you’re doing.
Keep playing.
You’re going to spend hours in the “tutorial” cursing Paradox and everybody who ever recommended this game to you.
Keep playing.
Even after about 330 hours I still have no idea what I’m doing sometimes. But as you learn each little piece of the game, bit by bit it will all start coming together and once those pieces start coming together, this will be your go to game for years to come.
The best advice I can give to any new player is to take some time to watch YouTube tutorials. There are thousands of tutorial videos on each aspect of the game and they will help you understand how things work much better than the in-game wiki.
Also, if at all possible, try to purchase this game while it and its DLCs are all on sale. The base game can get to feel a little bare bones once you get a grasp on the basics and the DLCs add a substantial amount to the overall package (especially Man the Guns).
I picked Luxembourg for a real challenge. I spent years building industry and infrastructure, asked the UK to be friends, got rejected, and vowed revenge. I shifted ideology, rushed nuclear research, pulled off a coup, joined the Axis, unified the Benelux, and helped take France.
Then Germany attacked the USSR and the British landed in France. I stalled them until help arrived. By late 1944 my first bomb was ready. After winning air superiority with the proud Luxembourgian air force, I dropped it on London. Weak and pathetic no more. 11/10 would do it again.
