HOI4’s Next Push: Japan–China–Philippines Overhaul Lands Nov 20, Man the Guns Goes Free

The Pacific Gets Its Turn – And A Free Naval Reset

Hearts of Iron IV is pushing toward its tenth year, and Paradox still has gas in the tank. Expansion Pass 2 kicks off November 20 with No Compromise, No Surrender, a DLC that finally puts the Pacific front and center by overhauling Japan, China, and the Philippines. The headliner is backed by three more packs through 2026 – and, quietly, the biggest news for many of us: 2019’s naval expansion Man the Guns is going free. That last bit could change the game more than any new focus tree.

Key Takeaways

• No Compromise, No Surrender reworks Japan and China and gives the Philippines long-overdue unique paths.
• Man the Guns going free standardizes the ship designer and naval systems for everyone, which is huge for multiplayer and mods.
• Expansion Pass 2 costs $48.77 / £40.99 and spans into 2026; one pack is cosmetic, two are nation overhauls.
• All eyes on whether Paradox pairs this with meaningful naval AI and late-game performance fixes.

Breaking Down No Compromise, No Surrender

This caught my attention because Asia has long been HOI4’s weird split: massive, decisive historically, but with aging content. China’s last big shake-up was Waking the Tiger back in the day; Japan’s tree is serviceable but rigid; the Philippines has mostly lived on generic content unless you mod. So seeing all three get love in one drop is a real swing.

Japan’s pitch is classic IJN fantasy with practical guardrails: secure energy resources, enforce naval supremacy, crush uprisings, and drive industrial tempo. If Paradox ties resource security into meaningful economic tradeoffs (think oil shortages forcing Dutch East Indies ambitions or riskier diplomacy), that’s the sort of pressure that creates memorable runs. I’m curious how deep the “faction redesign” ideas go here – Japan’s internal politics could use more friction than “pick a faction, go to war.”

China’s getting both Nationalist and Communist paths refreshed, which is overdue. The best China campaigns force you to wrangle warlords, fight a stronger Japan, and still find a way to unify a fractured state. If the new trees offer multiple answers to that pressure — not just “paint the map, but faster” — it could finally make the 1937-1939 years feel less railroaded and more reactive.

The surprise pick is the Philippines. Defending the archipelago is a brutal logistics lesson even for vets, so giving it real alt-history options — broker resources for protection, align with former foes, or push hard for independence — is the right call. Smaller nations with teeth make for great multiplayer wildcards and single-player “one more run” challenges. If the tree integrates naval choke points and convoy play smartly, this could be a sleeper hit.

What’s Coming After, And Is The Pass Worth It?

Expansion Pass 2 includes three more DLCs stretching into 2026. Warships of the Pacific (Q1 2026) is cosmetic — new art for battleships and other vessels, which is neat but not essential. Thunder at our Gates (Q2 2026) targets Australia, Siam (Thailand), and Indonesia with new/updated focus trees plus features like military headquarters and navy captains; sounds like a systems-light, nation-heavy pack. Peace for our Time (later 2026) focuses on Czechoslovakia and a world where Prague digs in against Germany — a classic HOI “what if” that could deliver serious replayability if the Sudetenland crisis is more than a single checkbox.

Price check: $48.77 / £40.99 for the bundle, which includes No Compromise, No Surrender, the two nation packs, the cosmetic ships, and an immediate Seaplane Tenders unit art bonus. Value will hinge on depth. If the Japan/China/Philippines work lands at No Step Back/By Blood Alone quality, it carries the bundle; if not, paying now for content spread into late 2026 may feel like a long wait. Buy the pass if you know you’re all-in on HOI4 for the next year; otherwise, grabbing No Compromise, No Surrender standalone and waiting on reviews for the rest is the sensible route.

Man the Guns Going Free Is The Real Meta Shift

Making Man the Guns free is the kind of move Paradox should do more often. Naval warfare and the ship designer are core systems — gating them behind a paywall fragmented multiplayer and complicated mod support. With everyone on the same baseline, balance discussions get simpler, mods can assume those tools exist, and new players won’t bounce off naval content because they’re missing fundamentals.

The open question is AI and UX. Naval micro is still a chore, convoy raiding swings between feast and famine, and the AI’s carrier usage can be… inspirational. If the freebie comes alongside AI tweaks and saner automation, the Pacific meta could finally feel strategic rather than spreadsheety. And please, Paradox, give us late-game performance relief — Asia-focused wars chew CPU like few other fronts.

The Gamer’s Perspective: What I’m Watching

• Japan’s economy: Do resource constraints meaningfully push you toward risky expansion, or can you sidestep it with easy trades?
• China’s unification: Are warlord politics and frontline attrition rebalanced to create real decision-making, not just “more divisions, more supply pain”?
• Philippine alt-history: Can a savvy player turn the archipelago into a naval trap or diplomatic powerhouse, or is it flavor without fangs?
• Naval AI and UI: With Man the Guns free, does Paradox smooth the rough edges so carriers, screens, and task forces behave predictably?

TL;DR

No Compromise, No Surrender lands November 20 and finally refreshes the Pacific with Japan, China, and the Philippines. Expansion Pass 2 runs into 2026 with one cosmetic pack and two more nation overhauls. The headline, though, is Man the Guns going free — a necessary baseline for naval play. I’m cautiously optimistic: if Paradox pairs new trees with AI and performance love, HOI4’s late-game Pacific might become the theater we’ve been waiting to play.