Hearts of Iron IV is under a wave of negative Steam reviews after a Discord ban dispute, and its Japanese official guide has expanded from a Kindle edition into a print book. Recent Reviews on Steam sit at Overwhelmingly Negative.
Hearts of Iron IV drew a wave of negative Steam reviews after a user was banned from the game's official Discord server for setting an image of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk as their profile picture. Moderators described Atatürk as a controversial figure linked to the 1915 Armenian Genocide. Of roughly 19,500 recent reviews over 30 days, 9 percent are positive, leaving Recent Reviews at Overwhelmingly Negative as of September 24, 2026. The dispute is a moderation call on a Paradox-run community server that has been converted into a Steam store page verdict.
The review situation sits alongside a separate line of coverage about the game's Japanese guide. ACROVE released the Kindle edition of the first officially licensed Hearts of Iron IV strategy guide in Japan on July 7, 2026, priced at 3,190 yen including tax. The guidebook covers the vanilla game environment, version 1.17.5.2, without downloadable content, and provides step-by-step strategies for the historical routes of Germany and Japan. It exceeds 700 pages and includes data on over 1,000 in-game items such as national focuses, technology trees, division templates, and ship data.
The print edition followed on August 18, 2026. Titled "[Official Guidebook] Hearts of Iron IV Historical Route Strategy Guide: Japan/Germany Edition," it is a B5-size softcover with 744 pages, priced at 3,960 yen including tax. It is published by ACROVE's game book label GameLib and focuses on the same vanilla, version 1.17.5.2 environment. A print run was first signaled in July, when the Kindle edition noted a print edition scheduled for early August 2026; the August release date is the settled one. Both editions include an exclusive interview with the Paradox development team and supervision or cooperation from YouTuber Isaac Z.
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Oct 5
Hearts of Iron IV drew a wave of negative Steam reviews after a user was banned from the game's official Discord server for setting an image of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk as their profile picture. Moderators described Atatürk as a controversial figure linked to the 1915 Armenian Genocide. Of roughly 19,500 recent reviews over 30 days, 9 percent are positive, leaving Recent Reviews at Overwhelmingly Negative as of September 24, 2026.
Aug 18
ACROVE's game book label GameLib released the print edition of the official Hearts of Iron IV strategy guide on August 18, 2026. The book, titled "[Official Guidebook] Hearts of Iron IV Historical Route Strategy Guide: Japan/Germany Edition," is the first officially licensed strategy guide for Paradox Interactive's grand strategy game to be published in Japan. It is a B5-size softcover with 744 pages and costs 3,960 yen including tax. The guide focuses on the vanilla environment without DLC, version 1.17.5.2, and covers the historical routes for Germany and Japan. It includes over 1,000 pieces of information such as national focuses, technology research, division templates, and ship data. The print edition follows the digital version released on Amazon's Kindle Store on July 7, 2026, which is priced at 3,190 yen including tax. The book is designed so players can keep it open on a desk while playing, avoiding the need to switch between the game screen and strategy information. It also allows readers to annotate pages with sticky notes or markers to create a personal operations manual. The guide includes an exclusive interview with the Paradox development team and supervision by YouTuber Isaac Z.
Jul 7
ACROVE released the Kindle edition of the first officially licensed Hearts of Iron IV strategy guide in Japan on July 7, 2026. Priced at 3,190 yen (tax included), the guidebook focuses exclusively on the vanilla game environment (version 1.17.5.2) without any downloadable content. It provides step-by-step strategies for the historical routes of Germany and Japan, designed to help beginners who find the grand strategy game too complex. The volume exceeds 700 pages and includes data on over 1,000 in-game items such as national focuses, technology trees, division templates, and ship data. A special feature is an exclusive interview with the development team, including game director Laszlo. The guidebook was produced with cooperation from popular YouTuber IsaacZ, who contributed advice on common beginner pitfalls. A print edition is scheduled for early August 2026. The game itself is currently 80% off on Steam until July 10.