Strategy · August 7, 2009
Hearts of Iron III (2009)
Community Tag Signals
Tag weights reflect how many Steam users voted each descriptor — larger pills = stronger consensus.
- Grand Strategy · 301
- Strategy · 286
- World War II · 270
- Historical · 193
- Simulation · 141
- Military · 129
- Real-Time with Pause · 123
- War · 89
- Sandbox · 82
- Multiplayer · 80
- Difficult · 75
- Singleplayer · 62
- RTS · 56
- Wargame · 54
- Alternate History · 21
Position in Strategy
| Metric | This title | Genre position |
|---|---|---|
| Review volume | 6.0k Steam reviews | Top 57% in Strategy |
| Positive rating | 76% positive | Genre average: 84% — this title sits in top 83% |
| Metacritic | 77/100 | Genre average 79 — top 68% of Strategy titles |
| Engagement hours | 18 h average | Top 48% for session depth among Strategy |
Peer Strategy titles
Comparable titles in the same genre and review-volume band — ranked by Steam positive percentage.

Nubby's Number Factory
2025 · 98% · 9.4k

Kingdom Rush - Tower Defense
2014 · 97% · 14.8k

Desperados III
2020 · 97% · 14.5k · 86/100 MC

Supreme Commander: Forged Alliance
2011 · 97% · 13.5k · 81/100 MC

Kingdom Rush Frontiers - Tower Defense
2016 · 97% · 9.4k

Warhammer® 40,000: Dawn of War® - Dark Crusade
2007 · 96% · 9.0k · 87/100 MC
Strategy releases from 2009
11 Strategy titles launched in 2009 — top 6 by review volume.

Plants vs. Zombies GOTY Edition
2009 · 98% · 139.9k · 87/100 MC

Total War: EMPIRE – Definitive Edition
2009 · 91% · 35.5k · 90/100 MC

Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II - Anniversary Edition
2009 · 88% · 12.8k · 85/100 MC

The Stronghold Collection
2009 · 89% · 5.2k

Men of War™
2009 · 90% · 3.6k · 80/100 MC

Evil Genius
2009 · 93% · 3.5k · 75/100 MC
Reception Metrics
Steam community
4.5k positive · 1.4k negative
Metacritic
Metacritic user score
7.1/10
Curator recommendations
4.9k
More from Paradox Development Studio
Paradox Development Studio has 9 titles indexed — top 6 by review volume below.
Press Quotes
'offers a challenge to most strategy die-hards' — Dreamstation 'Paradox has done a tremendous job of making this complex design relatively easy to get into.' — Gamespot 'With incredible flexibility, freedom, and depth, this is a history buffs dream and should not be passed up if you are a fan of the genre.' — PCgameworld 'Serious wargamers are in for a real treat as the hardcore franchise returns for another go at the world's most terrible war.' — Gamespy 'Featuring…
Release & Availability
| Release date | Aug 7, 2009 |
|---|---|
| Developer | Paradox Development Studio |
| Publisher | Paradox Interactive |
| Base price | $2.49 -75% |
| DLC / Add-ons | 18 released |
| Platforms | Windows, macOS |
| Estimated owners | 1M–10M |
| External links | Official site · Metacritic page · Support |
Engagement Profile
All-time avg
18h
moderate (15–40 hours)
Median
3h
Typical completion time
2-week avg
0h
Current engagement
Features & Capabilities
Multiplayer
- Multi-player
- Co-op
Community
- Steam Trading Cards
Other
- Single-player
- Family Sharing
Localization Coverage
Interface / Subtitles (4)
- English
- French
- German
- Spanish - Spain
Editions & Packages
Buy Hearts of Iron III





