History Videogame / HeartsOfIron

* TheLastOfTheseIsNotLikeTheOthers: Among the four kinds of ideologies featured in ''IV'', three of them (democratic, communist, and fascist) are self explanatory, while the fourth, "non-aligned", consists in all which don't fit the main ideologies. The non-aligned variant of countries actually include very different regimes, like monarchies (restored German Empire, United Kingdom under a certain Edward VIII's path, restored French monarchy or French empire, Yugoslavia, Bhutan...), theocracies (Tibet), very conservative and authoritarian republics (Poland), more classical dictatorships (Chang Kai-Shek's China, Argentina...), military juntas (Chinese warlords), an outright fascist republic (Austria[[note]]It's not categorized as Fascist because the ruling Fascist party was ''very'' anti-German. The actual ingame Fascist option for Austria is the Austrian branch of the Nazi Party[[/note]]) and even anarchists (one of Spain's faction)!
** It caused [[https://forum.paradoxplaza.com/forum/threads/a-quick-catalogue-of-remaining-issues-with-monarchist-france-focuses.1361117/post-26394219 the issue]] of Legitimist France being able to join the UsefulNotes/SpanishCivilWar alongside the Carlists ''or the Anarchists'' since the event modelising this choice only checked whether France had the same ideology. This issue ended up [[ObviousRulePatch being fixed]] by [[https://forum.paradoxplaza.com/forum/threads/patch-1-9-1-husky-live-checksum-6d23-not-for-problem-reports.1372914/ 1.9.1]].

** A major marketing point of the series, the game allows for things as big as the USA having a revolution in response to the Great Depression (you can choose whether to become Socialist, Fascist, Communist, or something else), to events as small as a historically-neutral country joining a certain side (Spain/Turkey/Argentina/Portugal joining the Axis or Allies, Brazil joining the Comintern, the USA joining the Allies before Pearl Harbor, etc).

** IV gives players the option to choose whether the AI will pursue historical options (Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, Pearl Harbor, etc.) or whether it can go off the rails even without player intervention. For example, Germany and Poland reaching a peaceful resolution over Danzig or Japan deciding to look to Siberia for expansion rather than the Pacific. Additionally, with the right ministers, you can reform Germany into a democracy. With ''Waking the Tiger'' Paradox has begun to add in added alternate-historical branches as DLC material accompanying patches that modify the base tree -- such as adding in options for Germany to go Imperial German or democratic German Empire or Japan going communist or returning to democracy, or Puyi's Manchukuo restoring Imperial China after rebelling against Japan.

* ArtisticLicenseHistory:
** In ''II'', Yemen is a British puppet state, and typically will remain so for the entire game, taking part in World War II if it breaks out. In reality, Yemen was an independent country, though quite insular and weak, and remained neutral during the war.
** Also in ''II'', Egypt is under direct control of the United Kingdom, instead of being a British puppet as it historically was from 1922 onwards. ''Darkest Hour'' fixes this, but still gives the UK an option for direct provisional control in the event of war. Similarly, in ''IV'', Egypt is the only country the player can release as the UK without having to go down the decolonization branch of their focus tree[[note]]in fact, if the player releases Egypt as a puppet and plays as them, they can earn an achievement for using the puppet system to gain independence, although it doesn't specifically require the UK as overlord[[/note]].
** In ''II'', the pre-Winter War Soviet territorial demands against {{UsefulNotes/Finland}} are much harsher than in real life; instead of the [[https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/43/Finland-Soviet_Union_Oktober-November_1939.PNG historical demands]], the USSR demands [[https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7a/Finnish_areas_ceded_in_1940.png the entirety of the area in Karelia]] that historically was ceded to them by Finland in the post-Winter War treaty. However, the entirety of the Karelian isthmus is represented by only one province in-game, so it would not be possible to accurately represent the pre-war "border correction" proposals.[[note]]It is also possible that Paradox did not want the player be "rewarded" for their successful defense of Finland by them losing ''even more'' territory than what was initially asked for.[[/note]] ''Darkest Hour'' fixes this slightly by having an extra province on the isthmus between Viipuri and Leningrad that ''somewhat'' corresponds to the historical pre-war Soviet-demanded area.
** In ''3'', Canada for some bizarre reason does not start out allied with the United Kingdom.[[note]]The only reason the Canadian government bothered voting on whether or not Canada would declare war on Germany (and later Italy) was basically to remind themselves that, because of the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Statute_of_Westminster_1931 1931 Statute of Westminster]], Canada was considered independent from the UK. That was the ''only'' reason for the vote in Parliament, as the Canadian government ''does not need permission from Parliament to declare war'', they just have to "ask" the reigning monarch of Canada to declare war for them. The declarations of war on Germany and Italy were the only ones to be voted on, as the Cabinet didn't bother to bring parliament back when they declared war on Japan (Parliament had been adjourned when the war with Germany broke out, and was recalled early for the vote. It was also adjourned when Japan attacked the UK and the US). It should be noted that Canada actually declared war on Japan one day ''before'' the United Kingdom and the United States.[[/note]]
** In ''IV'', Sheng Shicai's Sinkiang is a fully independent country, while it historically was a puppet of USSR.[[note]]There's probably technical reasons for this inaccuracy. First, being a puppet would lock its foreign policies, thus forcing it to remain part of Comintern instead of being able to join the Chinese United Front against Japan. Also, an attack against a puppet automatically results in a war declaration by the puppet's owner against the aggressor, so a Japanese aggression against Sinkiang would have forced USSR AI to turn against Japan, while OTL events had both powers being neutral to each other for most of World War Two[[/note]] The Sinkiang's in-game flag is a red six-branch star on the top-left corner of a plain yellow background, which was only used in 1933-1934. A historically accurate flag for the time the game is set would consist in a yellow six-branch star in the center of a plain red background.
** In ''IV'', [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mengjiang Mengkukuo]][[note]]a Japanese puppet located between Manchukuo and Mongolia[[/note]] already exists at the 1936 (1st January) start and is ruled by Demchugdongrub. Historically, ''a'' Japanese puppet state was installed in the area on May 12 of 1936, but its name, ruler, and flag are anachronistic at this date (they would be correct for the 1939 start, though).
** In ''IV'', the starting leader of France in the 1936 start is the President of the Council of Ministers (Prime Minister equivalent at the time) Edouard Daladier, who didn't occupied the post until ''1938''; in 1st January 1936, the historical leader should be Pierre Laval. Before ''La Résistance'', Daladier was also the leader of France for the August 1939 start, which is historically accurate.[[note]]French political life at the time was ''very'' complex and unstable, during the terms of French President Albert Lebrun (elected in 1932, replaced by Pétain in 1940 after the French defeat), the President of the Council of Ministers changed ''17 times''. The presence of Laval as the starting French leader (in real life, his tenure stopped three weeks after the starting date) poses another issue: [[NeverLiveItDown he's now solely remembered because he got back this role later, twice during the reign of Pétain, and is now viewed as one of the main responsible of Pétain's collaboration's policy]][[/note]]. With ''La Résistance'', the starting leader of France for the 1939 start is now Léon Blum, who was no longer in charge at the time, since his Prime Minister terms during the Thirties were 4 June 1936 – 22 June 1937, then 13 March 1938 – 10 April 1938. Strangely, the game has no problem updating other countries with the correct leaders from the 1939 start date, even though in quite a few cases, it's not possible to get them if you start in 1936.
** In ''IV'', Ireland is an independent country at the 1936 start, while it historically was a Dominion until its complete independance from United Kindgom in December 29th 1937. Ireland should start as a British puppet with the same status as Canada, Australia, etc.[[note]]This is justified because the Republic of Ireland was not interested in being a Dominion, and did not join the war historically for this reason. It just took until after the war was over for the UK to be willing to accept this.[[/note]]
** In ''IV'', Bhutan starts as a completely independent country while historically it should be a very autonomous puppet of the Raj of India (the Raj monitored Bhutan's foreign policy).[[note]]Technical limitations probably play a role in this one. The Raj is itself a puppet (of United Kingdom), so being the puppet of a puppet probably wouldn't work in the game. Note there are mods which partially fix this historical inaccuracy by making Bhutan starting as a British puppet.[[/note]]
** Japan's flag is represented by the "[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rising_Sun_Flag Rising Sun Flag]]", which historically wasn't the Japanese national flag but served as the war flag of the Imperial Japanese Army. The historically accurate Japanese national flag looked roughly like the current one: the circle had a different shade of red and was slightly off-center.
** ''IV'' confuses the fascist faction of China's Kuomintang, the Blue Shirt Society, with Wang Jingwei's [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kuomintang_(Wang_Jingwei) collaborationist KMT]]. BSS serves as the in-game Chinese fascist party, but has Wang as its leader; Wang never associated himself with the BSS in real life, and the BSS was an ''anti-Japanese'' fascist party.
** Functionally, the Raj of India consists in-game in a single, homogenous British puppet, which is an oversimplification of a system which would be too complex to be viable in-game. Historically, the Raj consisted in two distinct parts, the British India (directly ruled from London), and the Princely States (''many'' tiny autonomous principalities allied with United Kingdom and ruling locally). An accurate representation of this system in-game would theoretically result in half of India being part of the major United Kingdom nation, and the rest being a mosaic made of about 500 puppet states.
** In ''IV'', Mongolia and Tannu Tuva are both completely independent countries. A more accurate depiction of them would result in them being puppets of the USSR.[[note]]They start both campaigns as members of the Comintern faction.[[/note]] Also, the name Tannu Tuva is anachronistic, as it was used from 1921 to 1926; the correct name at the time was "Tuva".
** ''IV'' doesn't simulate the Phoney War, as full scale fights on French territory starts between Allies and Axis right at the moment the Allies declare war to Germany.
** Instead of only sending token support to Poland as they did in reality, the Allies in this game will actively try to defend it. German players only have a limited window of time to overrun Poland before Allied forces reinforce it.
** Prior to ''Battle for the Bosporus'', the Republic of Hatay (a country born in 1938 from the independence of a French Mandate of Syria's region, then annexed by Turkey less than a year later) isn't represented, which means (French) Syria and Turkey will retain their starting borders even after 1938.
** The UK and the Soviet Union invaded Iran in 1941 and deposed Reza Shah Pahlavi, which is reflected in the reworked Soviet Focus Tree, but in-game, this ends with Iran becoming a Soviet puppet instead of installing Mohammad Reza Pahlavi as leader but leaving the country independent or splitting the country between the UK and Soviets.
** Ecuador and Peru's 1936 borders in ''IV'' reflect their borders after the War of '41 and the Rio Protocols. Bizarrely, the War of '41 was ''originally'' implemented in the game, but was removed with later updates.
** The United Kingdom actually did invade and occupy Iceland like in the game, but Iceland[[note]] At the time, part of Denmark, which had just been invaded and overrun[[/note]] joining the Axis (as it tends to pan out in-game) is incredibly unrealistic.[[note]]In real life, the invasion of Iceland was a pre-emptive move to keep it away from Germany, and was done after Iceland refused to join the Allies out of a commitment to neutrality[[/note]]. Strangely, the way this played out in real life would actually be more accurate if it was done in the same way that Ultimatums the Soviets can send out to the Baltics, Finland, and Romania are, but it's not implemented as such.
** If the Allies get large enough and call in enough members[[note]]usually done by France or the UK releasing colonies as puppets[[/note]], the Axis can invite South American countries to the faction, which can result in Venezuela, Peru, El Salvador, and the Dominican Republic joining the Axis. The only South American country you could say supported the Axis after the war broke out was Argentina, who oddly enough, won't join the Axis this way due to being non-aligned instead of fascist; in real life, the various nations of South America joined the war on the Allied side gradually from 1941 to 1945 (with Argentina being the last) after Pearl Harbor was attacked[[note]]presumably, this isn't represented because the game would slow to a crawl from the nations being called in, not to mention that in the current version, Japan declares on the United States by attacking the Philippines[[/note]].
** It is understandable for Sukarno, being a leader of many facets (a nationalist Marxist who collaborated with the Japanese, then presided over a liberal democratic Indonesia before launching a left corporatist dictatorship) to be lumped in with a Democratic party, but this prevents him from being the leader of Indonesia as a Japanese puppet. Instead, it is, rather surreally, Suharto at the helm of his fascist "New Order" (the name of his government OTL and not his party) - despite being only ''[[ImprobableAge fifteen years old]]'' at game start!
** A few examples that, while in the realm of alt-history, still qualify:
*** A Greece that restore the Byzantine Empire would never officially call itself such. The term "Byzantine Empire" was given to them by a German scholar long after their fall, especially since the word "Byzantine" itself is an adjective formed from an obsolete name for their capital city (Byzantion was renamed "Constantinople" ''centuries'' before the actual "Byzantine" era). The Empire proper called itself the Roman Empire to its dying day.
*** Prior to the update that came with ''No Step Back'', West Virginia did not exist as a state on the map in ''IV'', instead being lumped in with regular Virginia. While this was likely done for a similar reason as to why all the states that make up New England[[note]]Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont[[/note]] are grouped together, this created a problem if the US goes down its Communist path and has a second civil war, as you would have West Virginia[[note]]a state that, although it did not exist at the start of the Civil War, was composed of people who wished to remain in the Union, and had it not been for the Constitution preventing a new state from being formed out of an existing state unless the existing state - in this case, Virginia - gave its approval, likely would have not seceded from the Union when Virginia did[[/note]] as a part of the Confederate States of America.
*** While Hitler allying with a fascist France that isn't a German puppet state is questionable enough, at the bare minimum, such an alliance would not be possible without France giving up Alsace-Lorraine voluntarily, as said territory was one that Germany still claimed after losing it during World War 1.
*** If the Nationalist Spain AI goes down the path that lets them form the Spanish Directory, then Franco will not develop nationalist sympathies and remain with the Republicans, and the player can continue using him as long as they do not go anarchist or independent communist. While Franco staying with the democratic government is a reasonable assumption, he'll remain playable if the player chooses to voluntarily go Stalinist - which, given that Franco was a noted anti-communist in real life, is questionable at best.
*** Going through the fascist British path not only results in bad relations between the [[TheEmpire British Empire]] and Germany but outright leads to war when finishing the focus tree. Which is very questionable at best, regarding that Britain's new leader, Oswald Mosley, was on really good terms with ThoseWackyNazis to the point that his Blackshirts were inspired by the German SS and he married his second wife secretly in [[PropagandaMachine Joseph Goebbels']] private house with {{UsefulNotes/Adolf Hitler}} as his guest of honor. Needless to say, Mosley suddenly hating his ideological allies, let alone declaring war on them and vice-versa, seems unrealistic[[note]]It's likely supposed to represent that Mosely was not anywhere as much of a rabid Hitlerite as, say, Norway's [[TheQuisling Vidkun Quisling]] and that his economic models and ideals were more modeled off of Mussolini's Italy which the focus tree allows you to befriend, but in RealLife Mosely obviously knew that a Fascist was a Fascist and wouldn't have allied himself with Italy and estranged Germany purely because their interests weren't perfectly aligned[[/note]].

** ''Together for Victory'' (15 December 2016), the ''Torch'' update, which adds new content for the majority of the [[UsefulNotes/TheCommonwealthOfNations Commonwealth nations]] (Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and the British Raj), as well as a new system for puppeting nations. This DLC was made free to all players on March 14, 2024, and subsequently integrated into the base game on March 21.
** ''Death or Dishonor'' (14 June 2017), the ''Oak'' update, which adds new content for most of the Balkan nations (Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Romania, and Yugoslavia), as well as new diplomatic options for fascist countries and new equipment production options. This DLC was made free to all players on March 14, 2024, and subsequently integrated into the base game on March 21.
** ''Waking the Tiger'' (8 March 2018), the ''Cornflakes'' update, which adds/revises content for Germany, [[UsefulNotes/SecondSinoJapaneseWar China, Manchukuo, and Japan]], including the [[UsefulNotes/NoMoreEmperors various Chinese warlords]], as well as new general abilities to add more flexibility to combat. This DLC was made free to all players on March 14, 2024, and subsequently integrated into the base game on March 21.

*** Prior to the update that came with ''No Step Back'', West Virginia did not exist as a state on the map in ''IV'', instead being lumped in with regular Virginia. While this was likely done for a similar reason as to why all the states that make up New England[[note]]Connecticut, Delaware, Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont[[/note]] are grouped together, this created a problem if the US goes down its Communist path and has a second civil war, as you would have West Virginia[[note]]a state that, although it did not exist at the start of the Civil War, was composed of people who wished to remain in the Union, and had it not been for the Constitution preventing a new state from being formed out of an existing state unless the existing state - in this case, Virginia - gave its approval, likely would have not seceded from the Union when Virginia did[[/note]] as a part of the Confederate States of America.

* ''Hearts of Iron IV'', released on 6 June 2016. It currently has 10 major expansions.

** ''Together for Victory'' (15 December 2016), the ''Torch'' update, which adds new content for the majority of the [[UsefulNotes/TheCommonwealthOfNations Commonwealth nations]] (Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and the British Raj), as well as a new system for puppeting nations.
** ''Death or Dishonor'' (14 June 2017), the ''Oak'' update, which adds new content for most of the Balkan nations (Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Romania, and Yugoslavia), as well as new diplomatic options for fascist countries and new equipment production options.
** ''Waking the Tiger'' (8 March 2018), the ''Cornflakes'' update, which adds/revises content for Germany, [[UsefulNotes/SecondSinoJapaneseWar China, Manchukuo, and Japan]], including the [[UsefulNotes/NoMoreEmperors various Chinese warlords]], as well as new general abilities to add more flexibility to combat.

** ''Poland: United and Ready'' (6 June 2016), a free DLC pack available on launch day that includes a unique focus tree for Poland.
** ''Together for Victory'' (15 December 2016), the ''Torch'' update, which adds new focus trees for the [[UsefulNotes/TheCommonwealthOfNations Commonwealth nations]] (Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and the British Raj), as well as a new system for puppeting nations.
** ''Death or Dishonor'' (14 June 2017), the ''Oak'' update, which adds new focus trees for many of the Balkan nations (Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Romania, and Yugoslavia), as well as new diplomatic options for fascist countries and new equipment production options.
** ''Waking the Tiger'' (8 March 2018), the ''Cornflakes'' update, which adds/revises focuses trees for Germany, [[UsefulNotes/SecondSinoJapaneseWar China, and Japan]], including the [[UsefulNotes/NoMoreEmperors various Chinese warlords and Manchukuo]], as well as new general abilities to add more flexibility to combat.
** ''Man the Guns'' (28 February 2019), the ''Ironclad'', ''Hydra'', and ''Fork'' updates, which adds/revises focuses trees for the United States, the United Kingdom, Mexico, and the Netherlands, as well as adjustments to naval combat and the Ship Designer.
** ''La Resistance'' (25 February 2020), the ''Husky'' update, which adds/revises focuses trees for Spain (including every faction in the [[UsefulNotes/SpanishCivilWar Spanish Civil War]]), France (including [[LaResistance Free France]] and [[LesCollaborateurs Vichy France]]), and Portugal, as well as a brand new system of espionage to undermine the enemy.
** ''Battle for the Bosporus'' (15 October 2020), the ''Collie'' update, which adds new focus trees for the remaining Balkan nations other than Albania (Bulgaria, Greece, and Turkey).
** ''No Step Back'' (23 November 2021), the ''Barbarossa'' update, which adds/revises focus trees for the USSR, Poland, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, as well as a completely overhauled logistics system, a military spirit designer, and a new Tank Designer.
** ''By Blood Alone'' (27 September 2022), the ''Avalanche'' update, which adds/revises focus trees for Italy, Ethiopia, and Switzerland, as well as an overhauled peace deal system, adjustments to the Ship Designer (again), an embargo system, and a new Plane Designer. With this update, every major nation from game launch has finally had reworked content.
** ''Arms Against Tyranny'' (10 October 2023), the ''Stella Polaris'' update, which adds new focus trees for the Nordic countries (Finland, Sweden, Norway, and Denmark[[note]]Iceland is given a focus tree, but is not considered an "Interesting Country" by the game's menu[[/note]]), as well as a new Military Industrial Organization system, a special forces overhaul, and an international arms market mechanic.
** ''Trial of Allegiance'' (5 March 2024), the ''Bolivar'' patch, which adds new focus trees for Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Paraguay, and Uruguay.

** ''Trial of Allegiance'' (5 March 2024), which is a South America focused country pack that adds focus trees for Brazil, Argentiina, and Chile as well as content for Paraguay and Uruguay.
* ''Hearts of Iron: The Card Game'' (2011) which uses the series name and is based on UsefulNotes/WorldWarII but has little else in common
* ''East Vs. West'', a planned spin-off set during the UsefulNotes/ColdWar, which was canceled.

* BonusBoss / EasterEgg: In ''II'', open up the console and type "Alienattack [province number]". Watch the slaughter begin.
** Arguably the Soviet Union is a bonus boss for the allies and vice versa, America can also be considered one for the Axis especially if you can take out the allies before America joins the war.