Hearts of Iron IV

Experiencing the finer points of all-out war in a truly grand strategy simulation.

By TJ Hafer, IGN 

Hearts of Iron 4 is an incredibly complex World War II simulation that will require potentially hundreds of hours to master, both in-game and poring over wiki articles that read like an economics textbook. And as someone eager to invest that kind of time into a game as long as it continues to reward me with new layers of depth, I consider that a very good thing. Thanks to an unusually striking look and clean, easily navigable interface, the biggest challenges we Hearts of Iron 4 presents us with are the good kind: strategic planning, division composition, and fine-tuning economic and political policies. The payoff is brilliant for those willing to put in the time to learn.

Read on…

Paradox’s Grand Strategy War Game Now Available

Paradox Development Studio returns to one of its most popular game series with the release of Hearts of Iron IV. This giant war game gives you control of any nation in the world during the chaotic years in and around World War II. Vast armies are yours to command, industrial infrastructures are yours to build and the far reaches of science are yours to research.

The Hearts of Iron series has always been one of the deepest and most sophisticated games about humanity’s greatest conflict. Hearts of Iron IV brings greater attention to the big picture of battleplans and sweeping troop movements, with a heavier emphasis on accessibility without losing the depth that fans have long admired.

As the world tension grows, you will be tested as a president, a commander and an industrial titan.

• Command the Great Powers: The seven strongest nations in the world come with exclusive National Focus trees to guide you through your new history
• Battleplan System: Set plans in advance for your armies and watch them execute their missions with the click of a button
• Two Historical Scenarios: Start the game with the explosion of war in 1939, or begin in 1936 to build up for the coming conflict
• Eleven Research Trees: Upgrade your weapons and vehicles, learn new military doctrines and unlock the mysteries of the atom and computing
• Change History: Can you bring the mighty Soviet Union to its knees? Get to Berlin by 1942? Build an alternate American empire in South America

Hearts of Iron IV is being released alongside the first minor power National Focus DLC, Poland: United and Ready which is available to all customers for free!

As well, the heavy metal band Sabaton, a popular group in the studio, has licensed a number of their World War II themed songs for a special Hearts of Iron music pack now available for purchase.
Take up arms in defense of your country, or sign up to impose your ideology on a hostile world. Hearts of Iron IV is here.

For more information on Hearts of Iron IV, check out the games official website.

Final Video Developer Diary Puts You In the Big Chair

With Hearts of Iron IV only days away, Paradox Development Studio offers you the levers of power as the world descends into the firestorm of World War II. The latest and final video developer diary before release outlines the types of decisions you will be asked to make as the president, prime minister or dictator of any nation you choose.

The focus here is on the big picture – the long term decisions you make as a national leader to set yourself up for ultimate victory.

On the political side of Hearts of Iron IV, you will responsible for the final shape your nation takes.

• National Focuses: Each major power has a custom tree of decisions where you can set out your immediate and future goals
• Ideological Drift: Appoint cabinet ministers who represent fresher ideologies to bring closer to one side of the ideological struggle.
• Coups and International Support: Commit political power to supporting the rise of a friendly party in a potential rival or sponsor a rebellion against your enemies
• Research and construction: You can’t do everything at once, so organize your government and infrastructure to achieve your long term goals.
• Send “Volunteers” to Help Friends: If a civil war breaks out, it might be helpful to push your side to victory by delegating your own troops to fight at their side.

Hearts of Iron IV will be available on June 6, 2016.

For more information on Hearts of Iron IV, check out the games official website.

New Trailer Shows Soviet Stand Against Fascist Aggression

Paradox Interactive and Paradox Development Studio today announced the start of the pre-order for Hearts of Iron IV, the latest grand strategy game about one of the worlds most destructive conflicts. World War II is at your fingertips as you guide your nation, plan your research, build you forces and design sweeping battle plans that will put the world at your feet.

To illustrate the alternate history possibilities of Hearts of Iron IV, Paradox has released a trailer that posits a Japanese attack on a heretofore triumphant Soviet Union. Watch it here.

If you are among those prepared to heed the call of war, eager generals can sign on today. There are three game editions available for Hearts of Iron IV:

• The Cadet edition is a standard Hearts of Iron IV release, but a pre-order will come with a new icon for the official Paradox forums and a new wallpaper.
• The Colonel edition includes everything the Cadet version does, and also one extra icon and a special Tank Pack to add variety to the vehicles running through your enemy lines.
• The Field Marshal edition includes everything from the lower ranked versions as well as an exclusive forum avatar and an expansion pass that will include the first two Expansion DLC packs for Hearts of Iron IV, whenever they are released.

Every pre-order comes with additional rewards no matter which version you choose to buy:

• German March Order – music pack, composed by Andreas Waldetoft.
• Allied Radio – music pack, composed by Tobias Gustafsson.
• Hearts of Iron: War Stories Gamebook – a branching interactive narrative where the player’s choices matter. War Stories is written by Aaron Rosenburg and features a young British RAF pilot during the Battle of Britain.

In addition everyone who purchases Hearts of Iron IV will receive a free DLC, the Poland: United and Ready National Focus Pack. This DLC gives Poland a unique national focus tree , several 3D vehicle models, 2D art and additional leader portraits, fleshing out the experience of playing as the nation. The Poland: United and Ready DLC will be available for all players, no matter when they choose to purchase a copy of Hearts of Iron IV.

Hearts of Iron IV is the latest version of one of Paradox Development Studio’s most popular series. Take control of any nation in the world and guide it through humanity’s most trying hours. With a new and improved battleplan system, you will be able to direct sweeping movements of troops through steppes, deserts and jungles. Area and mission based systems take the micromanagement out of naval and air combat.

For prices in your region, please check the Paradox Store or your preferred digital retailer. For more information please visit the Hearts of Iron IV website.

Above the Clouds, Below the Seas, In the Factories

With the release of Hearts of Iron IV only weeks away, the developers behind Paradox’s newest grand strategy wargame want to imprint on your mind the scale of the task that lies ahead for desktop generals around the world.

The newest video developer diary emphasizes how Hearts of Iron IV will be the total strategy game for a total war. Victory will depend on your armies, but not on them alone.

Hearts of Iron IV is the latest version of one of Paradox Development Studio’s most popular series. Take control of any nation in the world and guide it through humanity’s most trying hours. With a new and improved battleplan system, you will be able to direct sweeping movements of troops through steppes, deserts and jungles. Area and mission based systems take the micromanagement out of naval and air combat.

And, as you would expect from a Paradox game, history is only a rough guide. You can rewrite the past through your daring charge to Berlin through Denmark, or a desperate assault on the Japanese home islands.

Hearts of Iron IV will be available on June 6, 2016.

For more information on Hearts of Iron IV, check out the games official website.

In a dark alternate timeline, a weakened United Kingdom falls to the overwhelming might of the Third Reich. In a new trailer for Hearts of Iron IV, you can watch the key events in the fall of Europe’s last hope as played out in the game’s Clausewitz engine. Paradox Development Studio presents Operation Sea Lion as a success:

The trailer shows air strikes on the British homeland, combat around the capital and demonstrates how players can follow the war on the map through descriptive arrows and animation. In Hearts of Iron IV, like all Paradox grand strategy games, history changes the moment you start your game.

Hearts of Iron IV will be your chance to revisit the last titanic military struggle between the world’s greatest powers. You have complete control over a nation’s industry, military doctrine, political goals and strategic planning. Assign your fleets and air wings to areas of operation, draft your invasion plans and keep your war economy running by protecting your convoys.

Hearts of Iron IV will be a 2016 release on major digital distributors.

For more information on Hearts of Iron IV, check out the games official website.

Source: Gamer’s Hell

Paradox Interactive has unveiled a new video and eleven fresh screenshots for Hearts of Iron IV, a game by Paradox Development Studio that challenges players to face the brutal conflict of World War II in a multifaceted grand strategy game, where history can be fully relived or rewritten from the perspective of a global superpower attempting to change the world, or a small nation simply trying to survive.

Hearts of Iron IV aims to be the most authentic real-time simulation of World War II to date, with authentic historical figures battling on land, sea, and air with period-accurate armies, vehicles, and newly discovered weapons of mass destruction – along with plenty of diplomatic and trade tactics.

Find out more about the game at the official Hearts of Iron IV website.

By Nik Gaukroger @ The Wargamer

Hearts of Iron IV is the latest iteration of Paradox Interactive’s successful World War 2 grand strategy title. However, I have to confess that the last version was, for me, a failure as I just couldn’t get into it at all. Therefore, it was with some trepidation that I accepted an invitation from Paradox to a two day multi-player event being held just outside of London – that’s a lot of time to commit to something you really may not like from the off. This was not helped by having very little time to get to know the game with the beta that was kindly provided and having to get going with game from the start of the event. So how did it work out?

Read on…

Meet the Tanks and Vehicles of World War II in a New Developer Diary Video

Paradox Interactive and Paradox Development Studio today released a new developer diary video for Hearts of Iron IV, the upcoming World War II strategy game for Windows, Mac, and Linux PCs. The video features a visit to the “Arsenalen” museum of military vehicles in Sweden, where Hearts of Iron IV’s Project Lead, Dan Lind, invites eager commanders to join him on a tour of how different tanks were used to turn the tide of war – and how different nations pursued tactics of quality vs. quantity.

This tour is connected to new game discussion and in-game footage as details about industry, war experience and vehicle production are revealed.

Click here to watch the new video.

Hearts of Iron IV challenges players to face the brutal conflict of World War II in a multifaceted grand strategy game, where history can be fully relived or rewritten from the perspective of a global superpower attempting to change the world – or a small nation simply trying to survive. Players will have to involve themselves in every facet of wargaming, from diplomacy with authentic historical figures to production and resources, along with battles on land, sea, and air. The most authentic real-time World War II simulation is scheduled to release next year for Windows, Mac, and Linux PCs.

The “Rush to the Front” reward campaign for Hearts of Iron IV is still going strong, and ambitious generals who would like to obtain rewards for signing up, including the chance to participate in the Hearts of Iron IV beta ahead of the game’s launch, can still do so by visiting www.heartsofiron4.com.

New Trailer Reveals First-ever In-engine Footage to the General Public

Paradox Interactive today invited strategists and warmongers everywhere to enlist in the “Rush to the Front” reward campaign for Hearts of Iron IV, the upcoming World War II strategy game from Paradox Development Studio. Armies are massing as the world prepares to rewrite the greatest conflict in history, and Hearts of Iron fans can unlock exclusive rewards by winning over recruits to their side.

Simply by visiting the Hearts of Iron website at heartsofiron4.com, ambitious generals can join one of three factions: The Axis, the Allies, or the Comintern. The more members each faction recruits, the more rewards will ultimately be unlocked for all fans, and fans who recruit 20 or more soldiers will have the chance gain access to the Hearts of Iron IV beta. For more details, please visit heartsofiron4.com.

A new trailer today for Hearts of Iron IV has been revealed, displaying in-engine footage of the game’s new strategic planning system for the first time ever.

Witness history in the re-making HERE.

Hearts of Iron IV challenges players to face the brutal conflict of World War II in a multifaceted grand strategy game, where history can be fully relived or rewritten from the perspective of a global superpower attempting to change the world – or a small nation simply trying to survive.

Strategy fans will discover the most authentic real-time simulation of World War II to date, with authentic historical figures battling on land, sea, and air with period-accurate armies, vehicles, and newly discovered weapons of mass destruction – along with plenty of diplomatic and trade tactics.