Hearts of Iron IV

Hearts of Iron IV

Rewriting the history of the Second World War.

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Hearts of Iron IV

Hearts of Iron IV

Paradox Interactive

Victory is at your fingertips! Your ability to lead your nation is your supreme weapon, the strategy game Hearts of Iron IV lets you take command of any nation in World War II; the most engaging conflict in world history.

Welcome to 1936!

You are here to lead your country, but which country? You’re free to choose between France, Germany under the Third Reich, the USA… or even Luxembourg, Ireland, Mongolia, and Brazil!

As the Second World War looms, you’ll need to develop and protect your country, ensuring that it survives to see 1948.

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Hearts of Iron IV is a 4X grand strategy game developed by Paradox Interactive that offers some unbelievable and unlimited political and geopolitical possibilities.

Starting the game in 1936 gives you the time to prepare for war, whether that’s by following the path of real-world history, or striking out on your own to rewrite the history books.

1936 is the start year chosen by the vast majority of players, and we advise you to do the same, even if you can choose to start the game in 1939.

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The game is a real masterpiece, but it’s challenging and takes a lot of time to learn all of its subtleties. A mistake in the early game often leads to a very quick defeat.

Your first task will be to organise the internal affairs of your country, from politics to research, industry and the military.

Speaking of the military, you’ll be able to build fleets to do battle at sea, air forces to secure air superiority, and infantry divisions to take the battle to the enemy on the ground. The interesting thing here is the ability to customise your forces: you can choose which (historical) weaponry they use, what their divisions contain (tank or infantry divisions with artillery support, etc.)… the possibilities are almost endless.

When it comes to diplomacy, you can enter an alliance with any country out there. Fancy forging a Scandinavian empire with Sweden, Denmark, Norway, and Finland to take on Axis and/or the Allies? You can! What about forming an Asian federation to invade the USSR and Japan? There’s nothing stopping you!

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At the start of the game, you can also choose to turn on "AI historical priority", if you want the other great nations to stick to the way things played out in the history books. If that’s the way you choose to go, you’ll be able to learn real history as you play. It’s an uncommon, engrossing experience.

In parallel, the research tab is where you can develop military and civilian technology. At first, you’ll be best served focusing on civilian technologies: electronics, industry, and the exploitation of natural resources. This will provide you with a solid economy to serve as the foundation for the rest of the game. It also means you’ll need to build and manage factories. If war catches you unprepared, you can always convert a few civilian factories into military ones.

And every day, you’ll also need to earn valuable political power points. You can spend these points to change laws and hire advisors.

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Occupying the border between wargaming and grand strategy, Hearts of Iron IV is the definitive World War II sim. It takes time to learn and you’ll make plenty of mistakes before you grasp the full range of what can be done. And it’s no secret: this is a very hard and demanding game for fans of meticulous micromanagement. If that’s you, expect to spend hundreds of hours refining your strategy and delighting in watching the world respond to the decisions you make.

But, in the words of General Patton: "Accept the challenges, so that you may feel the exhilaration of victory".

Hearts of Iron IV
  • Age7

    Age

  • Desktop

    Availability

  • Solo

    Players

  • Keyboard

    Playability

Publisher: Paradox Interactive

Developer: Paradox Development Studio

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