Hearts of Iron IV
Paradox’s World War 2 grand-strategy sandbox is buzzing again: a Romania Focus Pack built with community modders is in preview, patch 1.19.4 just shipped, and the next big expansion has officially slipped.
Why it’s trending: Paradox is building the Romania Focus Pack with three community modders — dev diaries show a new "International Cooperation" mechanic letting Romania balance rival factions at once — while the 1.19.4 War Effort patch just landed and the next major expansion was pushed back.
The Romania pack so far
Modders turned devs
Alex, Norrman and Marijn211 — long-time HOI4 modders — are co-developing official content with Paradox, a first for the series.
International Cooperation
The signature mechanic: Romania can hold relations with mutually hostile factions at once, mirroring its real wartime tightrope.
Two economic branches
Agricultural reform vs Balkan Industrialist — a shorter, front-loaded industry path that gambles your long-term economy for early tempo.
Undated
Previewed in the Oct 22 dev diary ("Romania: A Flawed Democracy"); no release date or store page yet.
DLC slate 2026
| Release | Type | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Warships of the Pacific | Cosmetic (30 ship models) | Out Mar 17 |
| Peace For Our Time | Focus Pack — Czechoslovakia | Out Apr 22 |
| Thunder at our Gates | Theater Pack — Australia/Siam/Indonesia | Out Jun 11 |
| Romania Focus Pack | Focus Pack — Romania | Announced, undated |
| Next major expansion | Expansion | Delayed — no new date |
FAQ
What did patch 1.19.4 change?
A War Effort quality-of-life update (Oct 27) plus the f584 hotfix two days later — mostly flow/click-load improvements and fixes; 1.19.3 earlier added Australia/Siam/Indonesia content.
Is the Romania pack free?
No — it is a paid Focus Pack like Czechoslovakia’s; pricing hasn’t been posted yet.
Is HOI4 still worth starting in 2026?
Yes — the ten-year-old game still gets expansions, and the community-modder pipeline means the DLC cadence continues.
Do my old saves/mods still work?
Saves carry across patches; most mods update within days of a minor patch — check the launcher’s compatibility flags after 1.19.4.