On June 6, 2016, the developers over at Paradox Interactive released the grand strategy game, Hearts of Iron IV. It is a multiplayer game that allows players to rewrite World War 2 in real time. It is the most recent installation of the Hearts of Iron series. The previous installment Hearts of Iron 3 came out on August 7th, 2009. The game became a massive success over a few years after its release. The game quickly blew up and peaked at 78,086 players according to Steam Charts. With added DLCs and the Steam Workshop, creating more content, the game became very popular. So what makes this game so good?
One of the major mechanics of the game is how military actions are represented in the game. A nation in the game can deploy Divisions, a large military unit, or a formation if they have the equipment and the manpower. These divisions have stats, such as health, organization, strength, soft attack, etc. These stats determine how good a division is at something. Whether it is good at generally attacking, or is excellent at defending. These divisions also move at a certain pace. If a unit is made up of cavalry, then the division moves fast. Infantry divisions are not fast but are not slow either. The same for tanks. Additionally, extra equipment can be given to these units in the form of support companies. For example, support artillery, anti-tank, anti-air, etc.
Another major mechanic is the production of equipment. Each nation has its equipment to produce. But production requires military factories. Without said military factories, a player cannot produce any equipment. Equipment such as infantry equipment, tanks, planes, ships, etc. could be produced in the factories. These are used to advance and build your divisions as you build up your army.
One of the most fascinating parts of Hearts of Iron IV is the wide array of user generated content or mods that can be easily accessed through the steam workshop for free. Whilst some mods do require the player to purchase one of the Numerous Dlc’s (Downloadable Content) offered by the game, the majority can just be downloaded, some mods like “The Road to 56” , “Old World Blues”, and “millennium Dawn” completely overhaul the progression and focuses that are found in the game, while other mods like “Peace with Compliance” and “Colored Puppets” help with quality of life features.
Ever since the release in 2016, Hearts of Iron 4 has sold over 5 million copies. This is due to the numerous hours of fun that can be had with multiplayer which always allows people from across the world to play together. With mods or without, HOI IV averages 38,000 players daily and with a 91% positive review from the many players, Hearts of Iron IV has left a mark on the real time grand strategy genre of gaming.