Hearts of Iron 4 is one of those games that will never get old unless a sequel comes out. With many people discovering the game every day, you will always bump into new mods that you will likely want to try out.
Since HOI4 has been out on the market for a really long time, there are many impressive mods that you could only play if you had an older version of the game. Otherwise, there is no way you could ever make them work again.
Recommended Read: How to Open Console and Use Commands in Hearts of Iron 4
Changing a game’s version isn’t an easy thing, unfortunately, if you didn’t buy the game using the right platform.
Some will allow you to easily do this by the click of a button, while others will make it impossible for you to experience older versions of the game.
To change the game version of HOI4, you need to open your Steam Library and opt in for a different “beta” version.
Table of Contents
- Why Change the Game Version?
- How to Change Game Version of HOI4
- Can You Change the Game Version on Xbox Microsoft Store?
Why Change the Game Version?
The main reason to change your game version of HOI4, besides experimenting with an older version of the game, is to use outdated mods that haven’t been updated in years.
There are hundreds of mods out on the internet for HOI4 and the only way you could ever experience them is by switching back to the version that could actually play that mod back when it was released.
How to Change Game Version of HOI4
To change your HOI4 game version on Steam, you will need to follow these steps:
- Go to your Steam Library and right click Hearts of Iron IV.
- Select Properties.
- Open the “Betas” tab.
- Select the version you wish to play from the box to the right of “Beta Participation” and wait as Steam updates your game.
Once you open the game, look down in the main menu to check if your game version is the right one.
If the game hasn’t changed versions for some reason, exit the game, right-click Properties again, go to the Installed Files tab, and Verify the integrity of the game files.
This should make Steam bring you all the necessary files to make this version of the game work.
The oldest version of HOI4 you could go back to should be 1.5.4 since there were some problems regarding GDPR in the older version of the game.
If you want to change the game version to a version older than 1.5.4 of HOI4, you will need to follow these steps:
- Go to Paradox Plaza and log in (or create) your Paradox Account.
- Scroll down and find “Access Earlier Versions”.
- Click the “Show” button to the right of the “Access Earlier Versions”.
- Find the code for Hearts of Iron IV and copy it.
- Follow all the steps from above to get back to the “Betas” screen in the Steam Library and paste the code in the box below “Private Betas”.
- Press the “Check Code” button.
- Press the “ Opt into …” button that appears below.
Now you should find all the older versions of HOI4 if you open the Beta Participation box if you scroll all the way down, allowing you to choose whichever game version you want to play.
Can You Change the Game Version on Xbox Microsoft Store?
You’ve probably noticed that we’ve only talked about how to change the game version of HOI4 in the Steam Library. However, players can purchase HOI4 in the Microsoft Store and have it in their Xbox library.
Unfortunately, it is impossible to change the game version of HOI4 without Steam on an Xbox/Microsoft platform.
They just don’t have any systems to allow players to do that, which means you will never be able to experience older, outdated mods.
There also isn’t any way to move your game from the Microsoft Store to Steam, so you are stuck in this situation unless you buy HOI4 again, but on Steam this time around.
That’s everything you need to know about how to change the game version in Hearts of Iron 4!
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