Choose Making History: The Calm & the Storm
Choose Making History: The Calm & the Storm if you want an Action experience. On Steam, it's currently about 60% cheaper on the Steam Store. Making History: The Calm & the Storm launched in 2007.
Making History: The Calm & the Storm vs Hearts of Iron III
Making History: The Calm & the Storm and Hearts of Iron III both land in Strategy on Steam, which is why they keep getting compared. The comparison below is built from each game's Steam metadata — release year, genres, categories, Steam Deck status, price, and review score — refreshed daily by imho.run's scraper. Headline differences: Both are Strategy games on Steam. Making History: The Calm & the Storm (2007) is 2 years older than Hearts of Iron III (2009). Making History: The Calm & the Storm scores higher on Steam reviews (79.2% positive) than Hearts of Iron III (77.4% positive). No login or purchase needed — scroll for the full table, the verdict FAQ, and links to ranked similar games for both titles.
Which should you pick?
Choose Hearts of Iron III
Choose Hearts of Iron III if you want the Co-op side of the pairing. On Steam, it has co-op, so you can bring a friend. 2,730 Steam reviews back the pick.
Both Making History: The Calm & the Storm and Hearts of Iron III sit in Strategy on Steam and both list Multi-player, so either pick lands in the same broad neighborhood. Steam reviews are nearly tied (79.2% vs 77.4% positive), so genre fit is the cleanest tiebreaker — scroll the table for the feature-by-feature view.
Side-by-side comparison
 Making History: The Calm & the Storm |  Hearts of Iron III | |
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2007 | 2009 |
| Genres | Action, Strategy | Strategy |
| Platforms | Windows | Windows, macOS |
| Steam Deck | Unrated | Deck Unsupported |
| Price | 3.99 USD | 9.99 USD |
| Steam reviews | 79.2% positive (361 reviews) | 77.4% positive (2,730 reviews) |
| Multiplayer | Multi-player | Multi-player, Co-op |
| Developers | Muzzy Lane | Paradox Development Studio |
Side by side
- Both are Strategy games on Steam.
- Making History: The Calm & the Storm (2007) is 2 years older than Hearts of Iron III (2009).
- Making History: The Calm & the Storm scores higher on Steam reviews (79.2% positive) than Hearts of Iron III (77.4% positive).
- Making History: The Calm & the Storm is currently ~60% cheaper on Steam than Hearts of Iron III (3.99 USD vs. 9.99 USD).
- Hearts of Iron III has co-op; Making History: The Calm & the Storm does not.
- Hearts of Iron III is Deck Unsupported on Steam Deck; Making History: The Calm & the Storm has no Deck rating yet.
Making History: The Calm & the Storm vs Hearts of Iron III — FAQ
- Which is better, Making History: The Calm & the Storm or Hearts of Iron III?
- On Steam reviews the two are nearly tied: Making History: The Calm & the Storm sits at 79.2% positive (361 reviews), Hearts of Iron III at 77.4% (2,730). The choice usually comes down to genre fit and the platform features each one supports — see the comparison table above.
- Should I play Making History: The Calm & the Storm or Hearts of Iron III first?
- If you want chronology, Making History: The Calm & the Storm (2007) came out before Hearts of Iron III (2009). If neither is a sequel to the other, order doesn't really matter — start with whichever fits your current mood, since both share enough on Steam to make either a reasonable opener.
- Are Making History: The Calm & the Storm and Hearts of Iron III similar?
- They overlap on Strategy on Steam, so the catalogue groups them together — but "similar" depends on the specific mechanics. Use the genre + category rows above to decide whether the overlap matches what drew you to the one you've already played.