Origins: All the Russias
According to the Kaiserreich team's FAQ, the first iteration of Kaiserreich was released in December 2005 for Hearts of Iron II, as a rebrand of an older mod called “All the Russias”. That earlier project explored what would happen if the White Army had won the Russian Civil War. Kaiserreich widened the idea into a full alternate world.
Darkest Hour
The mod was later developed for Darkest Hour: A Hearts of Iron Game, a standalone title built on the Hearts of Iron II engine. A Darkest Hour version continued separately for years.
Hearts of Iron IV
The Hearts of Iron IV version appeared on Steam Workshop on December 1, 2016, a few months after HOI4 itself launched. The team's FAQ explains it began as a close conversion of the Darkest Hour version and has since been developed independently.
| Date | Milestone |
|---|---|
| Dec 1, 2016 | Alpha released on Steam Workshop |
| Oct 2018 | 0.8 “Divided States” |
| Dec 2019 | Beta 0.10 “Blood on the Yangtze”, out of alpha |
| Late 2023 | Version 1.0 |
| Dec 2024 | Russia rework release |
| September 18, 2026 | 1.7 “Crossroads of Civilisation” |
The world's history: a different 20th century
The setting begins with a single change: the Central Powers win the First World War, the conflict the mod calls the Weltkrieg. From there the timeline diverges sharply. Without spoiling events in the game, the broad picture in 1936 includes:
- A dominant German Empire leading its own alliance and economic sphere in Mitteleuropa.
- Syndicalist revolutions in Western Europe, with revolutionary states in France and Britain forming the Internationale, while the old governments survive in exile.
- A Russia shaped by White victory, since the Bolsheviks lost the civil war.
- An unstable United States and a fragmented China, among many other changes.
The game starts in 1936 as tensions build toward a second great war, but who fights whom depends heavily on your choices.
Who makes it
Kaiserreich is developed by volunteers known as the KR4 Team. Development happens on GitHub, where the team manages the internal version, tracks bugs and archives every public release. The team also publishes progress reports and patch notes on the official wiki.
Reception
Kaiserreich is widely regarded as one of the best-known Hearts of Iron IV mods. Wargamer's Timothy Borsilli called it a “rich, well-researched, and lovingly crafted world” and one of his favourite mods. The community has also produced music, artwork and fan fiction set in its world; see Kaiserreich book, Discord and community.
Where to go next
Check the version history for release details, or read what Kaiserreich means.
Get Kaiserreich 1.7
Free mod for Hearts of Iron IV, straight from the official GitHub repository.
