Hearts of Iron IV roadmap revealed, free weekend announced

Hearts of Iron 4, Paradox's acclaimed World War 2 grand strategy game, is set for a significant revamp, with the developers announcing a free weekend, Steam sale, and new 'War Effort' roadmap.

Starting now and running until April 8, you can enjoy Hearts of Iron 4 for free. If you like what you see, you can purchase at 80% off, bringing the price down to $9.99 / £8.39. A number of DLC and cosmetic packs are also on sale.

Three DLCs you won't have to purchase are the first released for the game after it launched back in 2016.

With this update, those with the base game will also get 'The Together for Victory' and 'Death or Dishonour' country packs, which expand on the British Empire and Central Europe, and 'Waking the Tiger,' the first full expansion that explores the intricacies of the Second Sino-Japanese War.

Paradox has also unveiled its plans for the title, with a 2024 development roadmap for Hearts of Iron 4.

The 'War Effort' roadmap, while sparse on specific dates and details, highlights four planned Operations: Grouse, Badger, Davidson, and Hamster, each marked with a TBA. The roadmap extends into a fog-covered area beyond Operation Hamster, hinting at additional yet-to-be-revealed updates.

Credit: Paradox

These monthly updates, described as falling between a maintenance patch and a major update, aim to refine gameplay through bug fixes, quality-of-life improvements, and balance adjustments. The devs also promise to look at long-forgotten countries and improve their playability.

The studio has made clear these War Effort updates will not overhaul major systems or feature-level implementations to ensure the game's mod support remains stable and unaffected.

And to top it all off, Paradox also unveiled a "brand refresh," minor changes to the game's artwork and logos, and a new gameplay trailer.

In addition, if the Hearts of Iron official Discord reaches 100,000 members this weekend, 500 copies of the Hearts of Iron 4 will be given away next week.