Where Are Hearts of Iron IV Save Files?
Hearts of Iron IV keeps saves in Documents\Paradox Interactive\Hearts of Iron IV\save games on Windows. Steam Cloud can sync saves, while OneDrive backup of Documents can create duplicates.
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On Windows the Steam version writes saves to Documents\Paradox Interactive\Hearts of Iron IV\save games. The folder name includes a space between save and games.
The parent game folder holds settings.txt, logs and mods. Copy the full game folder if you want saves plus configuration.
Where Hearts of Iron IV stores this, by platform
%USERPROFILE%\Documents\Paradox Interactive\Hearts of Iron IV\save games\
%USERPROFILE% is usually C:\Users\<username>. Steam Cloud syncs this folder when enabled in Steam properties.
$HOME/Documents/Paradox Interactive/Hearts of Iron IV/save games/
$HOME is /Users/<username>. Steam Cloud applies when enabled. Settings live in the parent Hearts of Iron IV folder.
$XDG_DATA_HOME/Paradox Interactive/Hearts of Iron IV/save games/
$XDG_DATA_HOME is ~/.local/share by default, or /home/<username>/.local/share. Settings file lives in the parent folder.
Frequently asked questions
Why do I have two Hearts of Iron IV folders?
OneDrive backup of Documents can create a second copy under OneDrive. Use the local Documents copy for manual backup and pause OneDrive sync while copying.
Where is settings.txt?
It is in the parent Hearts of Iron IV folder next to save games. Edit it with the game closed, then relaunch to apply changes.
Notice an outdated path? Let us know.