Can you trust Hearts of Iron IV's Steam reviews? Adjusted rating 89.2%
Genuinely great 400 positive and 400 negative reviews analyzed · data as of 2026-10-12
Summary
Hearts of Iron IV holds an official Steam rating of 89.8%. After weighting 400 positive and 400 negative reviews by trust, the adjusted rating is 89.2% (95% range 88.8–89.5%), essentially the same as the official figure. Verdict: "Genuinely great" (the adjusted rating is 70% or higher and the positive reviews carry high average trust).
Positive reviews average 0.73 in trust and negative ones 0.78; the difference shifts the rating by less than one point. The most common discount factor is very short reviews (41% overall).
Across 125 months of history, Sep 2026 stands out: review volume and the negative share jumped together. Of 42,618 reviews that month, 95% were negative, and that single month holds 56% of all negative reviews. Excluding it, the positive share in the monthly data rises from 79.4% to 89.6%.
The last 180 days show 85.8% (last 30 days: 80.4%), close to the all-time figure.
Japanese-language reviews (2,276) show 90.9%, close to the overall rating. In the last 180 days, Japanese-language reviews show 86.1%.
The adjusted rating estimates trust from how reviews are written; it does not judge any individual review as fake. Data as of 2026-10-12.
Positive vs negative breakdown
Share of sampled reviews that meet each condition that lowers trust. When a condition is more common on the positive side, the adjusted rating falls below the official one.
| Condition | Positive reviews | Negative reviews |
|---|---|---|
| Under 2 hours played at review | 1% | 4% |
| Very short text | 42% | 32% |
| Key activated outside Steam | 28% | 32% |
| Received for free | 2% | 5% |
| Owns very few games | 23% | 12% |
| Over 100 reviews written | 1% | 1% |
| Average trust (1.0 = full) | 0.73 | 0.78 |
The median total playtime of the sampled reviewers is 189.4 hours.
Rating history
Monthly positive and negative review counts since release, as published by Steam.
Shaded months were detected as concentrated waves of negative reviews (2026-09). Detection rule
Recent sentiment
| Period | Positive | Reviews |
|---|---|---|
| Last 30 days | 80.4% | 975 |
| Last 180 days | 85.8% | 18,094 |
| All time | 89.8% | 361,235 |
| Japanese, last 180 days | 86.1% | 115 |
About this verdict
- Every figure is computed from review data that Steam makes public. No AI estimation is used.
- Review text is never stored or republished. Read the actual reviews on Steam.
- Read the methodology and its limits
- If you disagree with this verdict, please reach us via the contact on the About page. About