Hearts of Iron

Iron allows the player to take control of a nation in the world and guide it through World War II and the years immediately before and after it. The first game in the eponymous series of grand strategy wargames. Despite receiving mixed reviews from critics, Hearts of Iron was followed by three additional games: Hearts of Iron II, Hearts of Iron III, and Hearts of Iron IV.

Players play as a nation in the world in the years leading up to, during, and immediately after World War II. There are three main alliances in the game: the Allies, the Axis, and the Comintern. Nations in the game can attempt to join these alliances. Players can also control their nation's economy, government, and military. The game ends when there is only one alliance left or when the end date is reached; the winning alliance is determined through a victory point system, with points being given to alliances that control key regions or cities.

A sequel to Hearts of Iron, Hearts of Iron II, was released in 2005. Two spin-offs were created for Hearts of Iron II: Darkest Hour: A Hearts of Iron Game and Arsenal of Democracy. The third game in the series, Hearts of Iron III was released on 7 August 2009. Hearts of Iron – The Card Game was released as a free-to-play, browser-based collectible card game on 3 October 2011. East vs. West – A Hearts of Iron Game was scheduled to release in 2014, but was canceled. Hearts of Iron IV, the fourth main installment in the series, was released on 6 June 2016.

Hearts of Iron: Platinum was released in 2004 with the intention of improving several elements of the original game. According to Metacritic, Hearts of Iron: Platinum received slightly more favorable reviews than the original Hearts of Iron.

The game was banned in the People's Republic of China because of the game's depiction of Taiwan under Japanese control and Tibet, Sinkiang, and Manchuria as independent nations. In the time period depicted in the game, Manchuria was a Japanese puppet state, Taiwan was under Japanese control, Sinkiang was partially under Soviet rule and other parts were part of the First and Second East Turkestan Republics, while Tibet was a de facto independent nation. The People's Republic of China recognises all as provinces of the nation, and refuses to allow recognition of history outside the Communist takeover in 1949.