# Hex of Steel — WW2 turn-based Strategy game. > WWII turn-based strategy game with deep customization and cross-platform multiplayer. (iPhone/iPad app by Valentin Lievre.) - Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/hex-of-steel/id1532682161 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`) - Developer: [Valentin Lievre](https://appshunter.io/developer/1532623300) - Category: Games, Strategy - Price: $4.99 - Rating: 4.40/5 from 132 App Store ratings · 165 written reviews indexed - Age rating: 4+ - Requires: iOS 12.0 · 436 MB - Languages: American English - Released: 2020-09-21 - Data updated: 2026-09-02 - Monetization: free - User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/hex-of-steel/id1532682161/reviews.md ## What is Hex of Steel? ▶ Command the War. Forge History ◀ Hex of Steel is a deep, turn-based WW2 strategy wargame spanning Europe, North Africa, and the Pacific. Command 45 nations in rich, hex-based tactical warfare. Play solo through branching campaigns or challenge others in cross-platform multiplayer. ▶ Why Hex of Steel Stands Out ◀ • Deep Turn-Based Strategy: Classic hex-based warfare with modern mechanics • Dynamic AI: Smart, reactive opponents that play fair—no cheating • Epic Campaigns: Lead your army through branching, history-changing scenarios • Massive Variety: Play as 45 nations, each with unique strategies • Full Customization: Doctrines, policies, and optional realism settings • Scenario Editor & Mods: Create and share your own content • Cross-Platform Multiplayer: Play seamlessly on PC and mobile • Living Battlefield: Weather, seasons, and immersive effects • No Microtransactions: Full game, no hidden costs ▶ Built with Passion ◀ What began as a €53 Kickstarter has grown into a deeply refined strategy experience, shaped by over 500 updates and a dedicated community. ▶ Join the Community ◀ Connect with 3500+ players on Discord to share strategies, scenarios, and experiences. ▶ Important ◀ For the best experience in the largest scenarios, a modern device (iPhone X or newer) is recommended. All devices can enjoy the full campaign and multiplayer features. ▶ Ready to Command? ◀ Whether you're a veteran strategist or new to wargames, Hex of Steel offers a deep, flexible, and rewarding WW2 experience. The battlefield awaits. ## Key features - WWII turn-based strategy - Spans major global fronts - Dynamic campaigns - Extensive customization (policies, doctrines) - Cross-platform multiplayer - Scenario and map editors - 45 playable nations ## Chart rankings - #160 in Top Paid · Strategy (US App Store) ## What do users think of Hex of Steel? Overall sentiment: positive **Pros** - 👍 Outstanding game - 👍 Fantastic detail and depth - 👍 Impressive single-developer effort - 👍 Great gameplay and strategy - 👍 Historically accurate - 👍 Highly replayable - 👍 Offline and online play - 👍 Excellent mobile port of PC game **Cons** - 🐛 Crashes and bugs - 🐛 Issues with mod editor and saving changes - 🐛 Difficulty with UI and controls on mobile - 🐛 Performance issues on some devices - 🐛 Lack of language support beyond English **Commonly reported bugs** - Aircraft unable to conduct ground/sea attacks after updates - Game crashing when loading mods - Inability to purchase or upgrade units after updates - UI elements being obscured by device notches - Inability to see detailed unit and terrain information **Most requested features** - Improved random scenario generator - Addition of railroads, rivers, and other map features - Ability to assign custom images for units and countries in mod editor - Undo function in map editor - Ability to capture cities with infantry only - More challenging AI that can outproduce the player - Addition of helicopter units - Inclusion of Battle of Britain and other historical scenarios - Expansion to cover Cold War and WW3 settings - More balanced resource/supply system between players - In-game tutorial and help system - Support for multiple languages ## Recent user reviews (10 of 165) All indexed reviews: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/hex-of-steel/id1532682161/reviews.md ### 5/5 — Good *2026-08-10* Good ### 2/5 — Bad mobile interface *2026-08-07* While this game seems fun and would probably be great on PC.. the mobile UI is nearly impossible to play with. On my iphone 15 some buttons are literally the size of a few pixles.. other buttons are obscured by the Dynamic Island on the screen… unselecting a unit is difficult and often leads to mistaken movement.. some of the tutorial instructions include telling you to “right click” After a couple of hours running the tutorial I could not figure out how to use the engineer, figured it must be one of the extremely small pixle buttons or perhaps an obstructed one and I gave up. ### 5/5 — Excellent *2026-08-06* Can’t stop playing it’s addictive love it are there any updates **Developer response:** Thanks! Updates are dropping when they are dropping :) Please check the update history, it’s quite extensive and available on the appstore ### 1/5 — Unplayable on notched phone *2026-08-02* The game looks fine - but the game is unplayable on a phone with a notch. Ideally the UI would use iOS safe frame rules. However - if this was fixed, it’s probably fine. **Developer response:** Hello, The only solution to the notch problem requires a full revamp of the UI which is unfortunately not going to happen any time soon. For now, you can rotate your phone one way or the other. I personally play with the notch on the right side on my iPhone and it’s fine. « Unplayable »  is a real overstatement, however. ### 3/5 — Mixed bag *2026-07-31* There is a lot to enjoy in the depth of the game, however i have run into similar issues with the ai forces becoming overpowered/play balance. It is almost like the allies did not really win in western europe based on some of the scenarios. I know you mentioned points generated based on tiles held in another response, but that negates the actual industrial capacity of the allies, which is not based on how much territory is gained in the short term of an invasion. In Overlord, the germans keep rolling new, powerful units into the battle even as cities are gained by the allies. Every time i think i have turned the corner, 6-8 new armor units appear and there are not enough points to heal allied units. It needs adjustments. **Developer response:** Hello, I am constantly tweaking scenarios’ balance based on user feedback such as yours. Thank you for that. As for now, you may have not noticed, but when setting up a scenario, you have income modifier sliders at your disposal for each nation in the scenario. You can and should use these to tweak the balance to your liking if you feel the balance is off (until an update comes out to address it if need be). As for the AI, its income is going to be the same as you (if you ever switched roles), it only gets buffed if you play in hard difficulty or above. Just checked Overlord and the Allies have 3x the German’s income. You can check that for yourself as well by opening the scenario in the editor and pressing the « i » (information » button near the player entry in the scenario’s settings. But again, feel free to set Germany’s income to 50% if that’s something you want. Cheers ### 5/5 — Looking forward to more WWII units *2026-07-27, version 8.4.11* Will you add Lockheed P-80 Shooting Star and PB4Y-2 Privateer to the game please? Really looking forward to this… ### 5/5 — some suggestion *2026-07-22* During my playthrough, I found that at the strategic level, encirclement is basically unnecessary. As long as you can directly destroy the enemy’s forces through head-on combat, there is little reason to attempt a pincer movement or surround them. I think the fundamental issue is that the importance of supply is not emphasized enough. If supply only affects recovery, there is no real incentive to encircle enemy units — because when movement is already restricted by ZOC, they cannot escape anyway, so you can simply eliminate them through direct attacks. I would suggest adding an optional rule: when a unit’s supply falls below 50%, its attack strength should decrease proportionally. The threshold could be adjusted based on unit size — larger formations would suffer from supply shortages earlier. For example, a division-level unit might only lose combat effectiveness below 50% supply, while an army-level unit might start suffering penalties below 70% supply. This would encourage players to use encirclement and cutting off supply lines more often, rather than relying on constant frontal assaults. Another possible reason is that retreating damaged units may simply be too difficult. A damaged unit often has a hard time leaving the frontline, so unless it is an elite unit, there is usually little incentive to withdraw it, move it deep into the rear, replenish its strength, and then return it to combat. As a result, players may prefer to keep damaged units fighting until the end rather than preserving them for future battles. Of course, it is also possible that my understanding of the game is not deep enough. This is only based on my own experience playing Europe 1939. At least in my games, I rarely found it necessary to deliberately encircle and destroy enemy forces at the strategic level. Most of the time, direct confrontations seemed to be enough to achieve the same result. ### 5/5 — Extremely clever AI *2026-07-07* You will need all of your wits to not get steamrolled - that”s demanding, sometimes frustrating but also highly satisfying. ### 4/5 — Part of the menu is covered by the camera *2026-06-28* Hi, the game looks really good. But I did not even start, because part of the menu is covered by the camera. The scale option is not able to fix this. It would be nice if you would not use the full display size with round corners and camera, but render instead into the good visible sub area. **Developer response:** Hello, It is unfortunately not something I can fix in any easy way, otherwise, it would have been done years ago. The only solution to this issue requires to remake the entire UI from scratch, which is sadly not going to happen. Turn your phone to the other side, works fine on my iPhone 15. Game is best played on a tablet regardless, UI is designed for PC which requires a big screen in the first place (this is not a mobile game, this is a PC game ported to mobile/tablet). Feel free to request a refund if you’d like, that’s fine as well. ### 3/5 — Strategic boomers became useless after 8.4.6 *2026-06-24, version 8.4.8* this balance adjustment is an overcorrection… ## Frequently asked questions about Hex of Steel ### What kind of game is Hex of Steel? Hex of Steel is a graphically intensive, turn-based strategy wargame set during World War II. It allows players to command forces across major global fronts, engage in deep strategic gameplay, and rewrite military history through dynamic campaigns. ### What are the key features of Hex of Steel? Key features include extensive customization with over 50 policies and doctrines, dynamic AI, expansive scenarios across Europe, Africa, and the Pacific, epic branching campaigns, cross-platform multiplayer, scenario and map editors, and 45 playable nations. The game also features dynamic weather and seasonal transitions. ### Is Hex of Steel free to play? Yes, Hex of Steel is a free game with no in-app purchases or paid content. What you see is what you get, offering the full experience without any hidden costs. ### What devices is Hex of Steel compatible with? Hex of Steel is a graphically intensive game, recommended for devices with a strong GPU/CPU, ideally from 2017 onward like the iPhone X. However, all devices can access the campaign mode and multiplayer battles. ### What makes Hex of Steel replayable? The game offers immense replayability through its 45 playable nations, allowing for diverse strategies. Additionally, the random scenario generator, extensive customization options, and the ability to design your own scenarios, units, and maps ensure limitless creative possibilities and varied challenges. ## Version history (last 5 releases) ### 8.4.13 — 2026-08-14 CHANGES • Reworked flamethrower tanks stats (nerfed). • Modded units are now excluded from the naming auto-update on scenario opening (fix for modders that got some of their units renamed by the game on scenario opening, only one case I’m aware of). • ‘Low health’ unit notification were not destroyed when a ‘unit was destroyed’ notification takes over (to reduce notifications clutter). FIXES • Playing a PBEM game/turn before using the random scenario generator or the scenario editor would lead to PBEM data leaking into the newly generated scenario and making it impossible to edit it in the scenario editor because it was considered a PBEM game. • Unit purchase limit shown in store was displayed beneath the unit representation image and could be hidden by it if the unit image was large enough to cover it. • Upkeep value calculated was wrong for tanks/artillery units in transport ships/planes (they counted as ships and used ship upkeep value instead of their own). • Adding/removing a loadout on a unit through the upgrade/downgrade menu could be used to get free supplies (an upgrade/downgrade action reset the ammo/fuel amount on the unit free of charge). • AA units attacking nearby land units were not triggering artillery supportive fire. • Simplified Chinese characters were broken in the font asset. • Historical accuracy issues in the Europe 1940 standalone scenario. • Historical accuracy issues in the Battle of Anzio standalone scenario. ### 8.4.11 — 2026-07-18 ADDED • Blacklisted players list now automatically fetched from the servers in real time to refresh the chat instead of being baked into the game files and requiring a game update to update the ban player list. CHANGES • Improved localization quality for Simplified Chinese. • Europe 1941 units in villages have been replaced by garrisons. • Europe 1942 units in villages have been replaced by garrisons. • Europe 1943 units in villages have been replaced by garrisons. • AI ships will now move and target low damage potential land target if there is nothing else for them to do (they would stay idle before). FIXES • Localization entries missing. • Secondary/Major victory point could go out of sync from regular victory points in the map editor when setting the points (really rarely, and that would create freeze during the game so it would not go unnoticed. Did not happen on base game scenarios). • Custom campaign scenarios could have issues when finishing the first and second scenarios of the tree and would fail to load more. • Not all diplomatic options were disabled in campaign scenarios. • AI ships should no longer move into harbour tiles (if that were still the case, please send me the autosave file from the previous turn to the support email). • Buildings could be upgraded in the reserve and trigger an infinite money exploit through there. • Buildings (factories, refineries, airfields etc) could be built on rivers (where there was a bridge). • One rare and super specific occurence of AI game lag (several seconds) in a very specific case: • In a very specific case, you could be prompted with the overrun confirmation window during the AI’s turn. • If you had the ‘All Weather’ policy and had the ‘plane can move one extra tile after attack’ optional setting and your plane started above an enemy unit and you attacked that unit, your plane would not be allowed to move more than a single tile. • Some AI controlled nations would not perform landings when historical focus was ON in custom scenarios. • Mobile users: the amount of available units in the reserve would not display more than 2 characters, instead of 100+, it would display 10. • Mobile users: One more attempt to prevent auto overrun on attack. ### 8.4.9 — 2026-07-01 CHANGES • Armoured trains stats: armour reduced from 50 to 30. Fuel reduced from 200 to 150 (5 turns worth of movement). • Strategic bombers will now remove 2 entrenchment instead of 1 during an attack (at the exception of strategic bombers carrying a torpedo, or a recon strategic bomber). FIXES • Supply route making stupid decisions and providing suboptimal supply paths. • Light bombers did not have their damage bonus (x2) vs naval transports. • Armoured trains would get entrenchment level 3 on scenario start even though their entrenchment amount could never go up. • Minsk 1941 Axis (campaign) very unbalanced. • Europe 1941 German side had negative manpower on start. • Scenario introduction text was not selectable/glitchy when selected. • Bug in the visual result of the damage calculation from the hero damage bonus, it was applied once in the damage calculation (correct) but displayed in the damage breakdown (bug). • Bug on the damage shown on the counter, hero damage bonus was counted twice. • Bug on devices that have Turkish as device language (not game language, device language) where mobility options would not be available in the store menu. ### 8.4.8 — 2026-06-22 CHANGES • Unit names are now properly localized when using the ‘realistic naming’ setting. • Engineers can now build/place down tile units (fortifications, factories…) on tiles that are non-empty from unit (as long as they are allies), changing the tile under an existing unit will however reset its entrenchment value (down to zero). • Updated manual. FIXES • Start button being greyed out even though everything was ready to play in the standalone scenarios menu. • Capitalization in unit naming inconsistencies when playing with realistic names option. • Issue with event actions data being shared when event was executed and target players could be wrong. • Attempt to fix game settings unproperly being restored after playing an online game with different game settings than the client's. • A retreating unit moving across an enemy landmine and dying as a result of it would keep the tile as ‘busy’. • Artillery damage could become positive and heal enemy units when playing with ‘damage reduction over attack frequency’ setting in very specific cases. • Fixes to unit names capitalization (all words are now capitalized). • Several Panzer III L were present on the Sevastopol 41 scenario, even though they were not available at that time. • Overrun action could sometimes trigger instantly during an attack (input issue on mobile). • Minor localization typo. ### 8.4.6 — 2026-06-01 ADDED • Localization of all hardcoded units names, for example: Heavy infantry => Infanterie lourde, etc. • Store categories icons for antiquity and medieval periods/eras. CHANGED • First player in the list of players in the standalone scenarios menu will now automatically be selected as 'playing first' by default. • Very bad morale (red) now applies a penalty of 15% (+5% damage penalty vs prior). • Strategic bombers no longer ignore terrain modifier and entrenchment. This change was made to go against the strategic bombers spam and overuse over CAS bombers. • Repeated attack modifier now applies on final damage dealt, not on raw/base damage (will lead to less 0 damage attacks, as it was too punitive). • Minor balance changes on Poland campaign scenario on the Axis side. • Manual has been updated to reflect the latest changes from this update. • German Kavallerie unit has been renamed into Cavalry. • Soviet Desantniki have been renamed into Paratroopers. • Italian Paracadutisti have been renamed into Paratroopers. • German Panzergrenadier have been renamed into Panzergrenadiers. FIXED • Kawanishi H6K had 3 vision range instead of 2. • Japan 1945 standalone scenario balance issues. • Battle of the Bulge campaign scenario had no places to deploy heavy equipment/reinforcements. • Blitzkrieg policy was applied when it was not picked in some cases. • AI commanders would never leave harbours and would keep alternate between transport and land state. • Vichy France would be created twice even if the country already existed if you played on a modded Europe scenario (like from the Europe+ mod). • Croatia would not be formed on Europe 1939/1940 standalone scenarios. • Molotov-Ribbentrop pact would not enter into effect on Europe 1939 standalone scenario. • Operation Citadel campaign scenario on the Allies side was missing a victory point to be held to achieve victory in 45 turns. • Research issues linked to the renaming of units. • Tutorial tasks text had wrong scale on SteamDeck. ## Apps similar to Hex of Steel | App | Rating | Price | Category | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | [WW2: Strategy World War Games](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/ww2-strategy-world-war-games/id1542704988) | 4.8 (3,731) | Free | Games | | [Z Day: Hearts of Heroes](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/z-day-hearts-of-heroes/id1374225046) | 4.2 (5,990) | Free | Games | | [World Conqueror 4](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/world-conqueror-4/id1258468290) | 4.6 (20,319) | Free | Games | | [Risk of war - Wartime Glory](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/risk-of-war-wartime-glory/id387944315) | 4.4 (4,027) | Free | Games | | [Supremacy: Call of War 1942](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/supremacy-call-of-war-1942/id1331030677) | 4.8 (29,468) | Free | Games | | [World War Armies: RTS Game](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/world-war-armies-rts-game/id1506931934) | 4.7 (10,487) | Free | Games | ## Related topics [hex strategy](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/hex-strategy) · [data analyst](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/data-analyst) --- *Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-09-02.*