The player serves as a member of the Hanseatic League in a map centered on Northern Europe with the goal of trying to become a major power within it.

[3][4] To increase their wealth and power, the player engages in trade by hiring ships to sell goods across the map.

[4] As the player's wealth grows from trade, they are able to participate in mayoral politics in different cities to increase their direct power, build businesses in towns, and engage in combat.

[6] Kalypso announced that Patrician IV would be the first game released from the Ascaron property rights library they had purchased.

[9] IGN's Jon Habib noted that the game was fun to play once, criticizing its lack of replayability and the removal of the multiplayer mode that was present in Patrician 3.