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Hearts of Iron IV vs Squad
Hearts of Iron IV is the more played game right now: 46,253 players on Steam against 12,400 for Squad, about 4× more players. Hearts of Iron IV has been ahead for 83 days straight.
Hearts of Iron IV also has the better Steam reviews: 90% positive vs 81%. Hearts of Iron IV is currently 70% off on Steam. Across all tracked metrics, Hearts of Iron IV leads 9 of 10.
Players over time
Live Steam player counts. Hearts of Iron IV is read every 5 minutes, Squad every 30 minutes. Both are Strategy games.
Which one have you played more?
Coilr members average 350h in Hearts of Iron IV and 188h in Squad. Connect your Steam account and this row fills in with your own hours instead — then keeps tracking both, so you can see which one you are actually still playing.
Hearts of Iron IV
350h
average of 70 members
Squad
188h
average of 44 members
See my hours in both
Free · read-only via Steam OpenID · no password · delete anytime
Hearts of Iron IV
32,192Squad
8,644Daily averages · latest day · Hearts of Iron IV, 3.7× the players of Squad
One point per day, averaged · Your time zone · drag or use arrow keys to read the lines
Tracked by Coilr since April 2026 · Hearts of Iron IV is read every 5 minutes, Squad every 30 minutes · methodology
These are Steam players only. A game that also runs on its own launcher, a storefront of its own or on console has players this number cannot see, so read it as a comparison of Steam audiences rather than of total ones.
Head-to-head record
Hearts of Iron IV has had the higher daily player count for the last 83 days, every day since Coilr began tracking both games.
Hearts of Iron IV led 83 daysSquad led 0 days
- Days tracked
- 83
- Current streak
- 83 days
- Hearts of Iron IV
- Lead changes
- 0
- Closest gap
- 61%
- Aug 2, 2026
How this works: each game's daily average concurrent players (from Coilr's own Steam readings), compared on the 83 days where both games have data. Whichever averages higher leads that day.
Side by side
Every number Coilr has for both games. The better figure in each row is in green.
| Metric | Hearts of Iron IV | Squad |
|---|---|---|
| Players right now | 46,253 | 12,400 |
| 24-hour peak | 48,929 | 13,893 |
| 7-day average | 37,898 | 9,554 |
| 30-day average | 36,120 | 9,825 |
| 30-day trend | −6% | −18% |
| Peak (tracked) | 71,856 | 22,254 |
| Steam reviews | 90% positive | 81% positive |
| Recent reviews (3 mo) | 10% positive | 79% positive |
| Total reviews | 362,081 | 244,919 |
| Owners (SteamSpy est.) | ~5,000,000 | ~2,000,000 |
| Release date | Jun 6, 2016 | Sep 23, 2020 |
| Price | $14.99 (−70%) | $19.99 (−50%) |
Players by month
Monthly average and peak concurrent players on Steam, from Coilr's own tracking (readings every few minutes for the biggest games, hourly averages beyond 30 days).
| Month | Hearts of Iron IV | Squad | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avg | Peak | Avg | Peak | |
| Apr 2026 | 23,165 | 31,767 | — | — |
| May 2026 | 33,728 | 60,597 | — | — |
| Jun 2026 | 38,494 | 71,856 | — | — |
| Jul 2026 | 39,195 | 62,871 | 11,936 | 19,928 |
| Aug 2026 | 37,972 | 58,911 | 12,422 | 22,254 |
| Sep 2026 | 34,298 | 62,783 | 9,497 | 21,078 |
| Oct 2026 (so far) | 36,608 | 63,006 | 9,424 | 17,242 |
Frequently asked
Which has more players, Hearts of Iron IV or Squad?
Hearts of Iron IV currently has more players: 46,253 concurrent players on Steam vs 12,400 for Squad, about 4× more players.
Is Hearts of Iron IV bigger than Squad on Steam?
Over the last 30 days Hearts of Iron IV averaged 36,120 concurrent players and Squad averaged 9,825. By that measure Hearts of Iron IV is currently the bigger game.
Has Squad ever had more players than Hearts of Iron IV?
Not in Coilr's head-to-head tracking: Hearts of Iron IV has had the higher daily average concurrent player count on Steam on every one of the 83 days both games have been tracked.
Is Hearts of Iron IV better than Squad?
By Steam review score, Hearts of Iron IV rates higher: 90% positive across 362,081 reviews vs 81% across 244,919 for Squad. Hearts of Iron IV has the larger player base right now (46,253 vs 12,400 concurrent). Player counts, ratings, price and trend are compared side by side above.
Is Hearts of Iron IV growing or declining on Steam?
Hearts of Iron IV averaged 36,120 concurrent players over the last 30 days, down 6% vs the previous 30 days. Its highest tracked player count is 71,856.
Is Squad growing or declining on Steam?
Squad averaged 9,825 concurrent players over the last 30 days, down 18% vs the previous 30 days. Its highest tracked player count is 22,254.
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