Paradox Interactive games were review-bombed from China due to the DLC for Hearts of Iron IV
Chinese gamers have sharply reacted to the upcoming expansion for Hearts of Iron IV titled Graveyard of Empires. They've decided to take out their dissatisfaction on Paradox Interactive's games in Steam, resulting in a flood of negative reviews.
Hearts of Iron IV: Graveyard of Empires
The situation first caught the attention of the portal Game Pressure. They noted that the review bombing began after Paradox Interactive announced an alternative history development of British India for Hearts of Iron IV last week. The company mentioned that in the expansion, players could transform the country into a powerful empire, capturing parts of modern-day China and controlling the Silk Road. This scenario incited the anger of some players from China.
Chinese gamers were opposed to the game's story diverging from actual history. Their dissatisfaction was compounded by the fact that the expansion is part of a season pass for Hearts of Iron IV. This means those who purchased the pass won't be able to receive refunds for the DLC on Steam.
According to the counter on SteamDB, over the last five days, Hearts of Iron IV has received more than 1,300 negative reviews on Steam, most of which are in Chinese. However, this hasn't affected the game's rating, which remains "very positive."
The number of positive and negative reviews for Hearts of Iron IV on Steam, broken down by day
As for other Paradox Interactive games, Stellaris received 218 negative reviews in five days on Steam, Crusader Kings III 205, Europa Universalis IV 186, and Victoria 3 161. In many recent reviews, players criticize the developers for rewriting the history of India and China and urge changes to be made in Hearts of Iron IV: Graveyard of Empires.
Paradox Interactive has not commented on the review bombing in Steam. The release of Hearts of Iron IV: Graveyard of Empires is scheduled for March 4.