How To Fix Hearts of Iron IV Keeps Freezing Issue

There are various reasons why your Hearts of Iron IV game freezes. It could be due to a game bug, corrupted game files, hardware compatibility issues, or outdated drivers. To fix this you will need to perform several troubleshooting steps.

Hearts of Iron IV is a strategy game that is set in the World War II era, specifically in the years 1936 to 1950. It’s developed by Paradox Development Studio and published by Paradox Interactive for the Microsoft Windows, macOS, and Linux platforms. The game allows you to control any nation and develop its naval forces, aerial forces, and ground forces. You can wage war against other nation, build diplomatic relations, as well as manage your resources .

Why does my Hearts of Iron IV game keep freezing?

One of the issues that you might encounter when playing Hearts of Iron IV is when the game keeps freezing or stuttering. This can happen anytime during gameplay but most especially when there are too many screen activity going on. This freezing issue might even progress to a crashing issue if it happens regularly.

Here’s what you need to do to fix this problem.

Solution 1: Check if your PC can run the game

The first thing should do is to check your computer hardware components and make sure that it is capable of running Hearts of Iron IV. Paradox Interactive has provided the minimum as well as recommended system requirements needed by your Windows computer to play the game.

Minimum system requirements:

• OS: Windows 7 64 Bit, Windows 8.1 64 Bit, Windows 10 Home 64 Bit
• Processor: Intel® Core i5 750, AMD FX 4300
• Memory: 4 GB RAM
• Graphics: Nvidia GeForce GTX 470 (1.28GB), AMD HD 5850 (1GB), Intel Iris Xe G7 (Tiger Lake), AMD Radeon RX Vega 11, Steam Deck
• DirectX: Version 9.0c
• Storage: 2 GB available space
• Sound Card: Direct X- compatible soundcard.
• Additional Notes: Mouse and keyboard are required. Latest available WHQL drivers from both manufacturers, Internet Connection or LAN for multiplayer, Up to 32 other players in multiplayer mode.

Recommended system requirements:

• OS: Windows 10 Home 64 bit
• Processor: Intel Core i5 2500K, AMD Ryzen 3 2200G
• Memory: 6 GB RAM
• Graphics: Nvidia GeForce GTX 570 (1.28GB), AMD Radeon HD 7970 (3GB), Intel Iris Xe G7 (Tiger Lake)
• DirectX: Version 9.0c
• Storage: 2 GB available space
• Sound Card: Direct X- compatible soundcard.
• Additional Notes: Mouse and keyboard are required. Latest available WHQL drivers from both manufacturers. Internet Connection or LAN for multiplayer, Up to 32 other players in multiplayer mode.

Solution 2: Update your graphics card drivers

When you are experiencing graphics related problems on a PC game such as freezing, black screen or crashing issues then there’s a possibility it is caused by an outdated graphics card driver. You need to get the latest version of the drivers as this will have several performance improvements as well as bug fixes that could fix Hearts of Iron IV freezing issues.

You can also download the latest graphics driver by using the Nvidia GeForce Experience app if you have an Nvidia gpu or the Radeon Software if you are using a Radeon card.

After the graphics card drivers have been updated you should restart your computer then check if the game still freezes or crashes.

Solution 3: Update your Microsoft Windows operating system

You should make sure that your Windows operating system is updated so that it will have all the necessary components needed for the game to run properly . The latest Windows update will have several performance enhancements and bug fixes that will improve your Hearts of Iron IV gameplay experience.

Download Windows updates

• Right click the Start button.
• Click Settings.
• Click Windows Update section found on the bottom left side of the new window that appears.
• Click Check for updates.
• If new updates are found then click on the Install now button.

Once the updates have ben installed, restart your computer then check if the Hearts of Iron IV crashing issue still occurs.

Solution 4: Allocate more system resources to Hearts of Iron IV

Sometimes the game will freeze if it is competing with another running application for the use of your computer system resources. You need to make sure that other running applications such as your browser, Discord, or any other software not related to the game are closed so that Hearts of Iron IV can make full use of your PC’s CPU, GPU, and RAM.

End running tasks

• Open task manager by right clicking the Start button then clicking on Task Manager.
• Make sure to click on More details.
• Click on the Processes tab.
• Right click on the apps running and select End task. Do this for all apps except Hearts of Iron IV and Steam.

Try to check if this will fix Hearts of Iron IV freezing issue.

Solution 5: Run Hearts of Iron IV as an administrator and disable fullscreen optimizations

This game will freeze if it can’t access certain Windows components and files. To allow Hearts of Iron IV access to these files you need to run the game as an administrator.

You should also disable fullscreen optimization option as this has been known to fix the crashing issue of the game.

Run game as an administrator and disable fullscreen optimizations

• Right click on the hoi4.exe application from its installation folder. This can usually be found in SteamLibrary- steamapps- common-Hearts of Iron IV.
• Select Properties.
• Click on the Compatibility tab.
• Make sure to place a check mark on the Run this program as an administrator box.
• Make sure to place a check mark on the Disable fullscreen optimization box.

Try checking if the game crashes or freezes.

Solution 6: Delete any mods you are using

Hearts of Iron IV allows players to create their own mods and share it with others by uploading it to the system. While mods are designed to add benefit to the game it can also affect the performance of certain computers causing the game to freeze. If you have any mods running then you should try to disable them then check if the game crashes or freezes.

Solution 7: Disable your antivirus software

An overly aggressive antivirus can cause the game to freeze especially if it keeps on constantly checking the game files. Try to disable this security software then check if the game freezes. If it doesn’t then you will need to add the game in the antivirus exception list.

To disable the Windows antivirus program

• Click the Start button.
• Click on Settings.
• Click on Privacy & Security.
• Click on Windows Security.
• Click on Virus & threat protection.
• Click on Manage settings.
• Turn off the Real time protection switch.

Adding Hearts of Iron IV to exception list of antivirus software

• Click the Start button.
• Click on Settings.
• Click on Privacy & Security.
• Click on Windows Security.
• Click on Virus & threat protection.
• Click on Manage settings.
• Click Add or remove exclusions.
• Click Add an exclusion.
• Click Folder.
• Select the Hearts of Iron IV installation folder.

Solution 8: Verify the integrity of game files

Your Hearts of Iron IV game will crash if it has corrupted or missing game files. In order to fix, this you will need to verify the integrity of the game file using the Steam client. Any missing or corrupted file will be replaced with new ones automatically downloaded from the servers.

Verify integrity of the game files

• Open the Steam client.
• Click on your Steam Library.
• Find Hearts of Iron IV then right click it and click on Properties.
• On the new window that appears, click on the Local Files tab.
• Click Verify integrity of game files…

Once the game files have been fixed try checking it the game still crashes.

Solution 9: Reinstall the game

In case the problem persists then this might already be caused by a corrupted game installation. You will have to uninstall Hearts of Iron IV and install it again.

Uninstalling the game

• Go to the Steam Library tab.
• Right click on Hearts of Iron IV then click on Manage then uninstall.
• Click on Uninstall again to uninstall the game.

Installing the game

• Go to the Library tab.
• Right click on Hearts of Iron IV then click on install.
• Click next to proceed with the installation.

After installing the game try to launch it and check if it still freezes or crashes.

Feel free to visit our YouTube channel for additional support and troubleshooting guides on various devices.