[2] Developed by Haemimont Games and published by Kalypso Media, it was first released in August 2011 for the Microsoft Windows platform.

Like the first and third games in the series, Tropico 4 centers on a customizable main character titled "El Presidente" – the ruler who runs an island-based banana republic.

For custom avatars, players may choose: gender, costumes, skin tone, hat, hairstyle, accessories, mustache, beard, earrings, traits, quality, and rise to power.

Appealing to the factions' needs is crucial to keeping the populace under control and avoiding being overthrown, be it by a coup d'état or by losing one of the elections held occasionally.

The game has a variety of humorous elements including running satirical commentary by the fictional radio station Tropico News Today, and subtle touches such as liaisons between priests and cabaret girls.

The "loading" and "saving" screens show quotes from various leaders, politicians, and revolutionaries such as Che Guevara, Fidel Castro, Vladimir Lenin, Karl Marx, John F. Kennedy, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Augusto Pinochet, Nikita Khrushchev, Leon Trotsky, Mobutu Sese Seko, Todor Zhivkov, Vladimir Putin, Josip Broz Tito, Muammar Gaddafi, Ferdinand Marcos, Imelda Marcos, and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

The soundtrack of Tropico 4, like its predecessors, features Latin music drawn mainly from the albums Elementos and Oñejo by Alex Torres and His Orchestra.

They are led by Antonio Lopez, a wealthy opportunist who promotes the sale of dangerous products and even sells firearms to the rebels for a quick buck.

If the Capitalists' demands are not met, they will resort to thievery to make money and will steal a portion of all income, mainly from exports.

Led by the hippie Sunny Flowers, an anchorwoman and conspiracy theorist, they oppose any efforts to scar the environment, even for economic purposes like logging and mining, and thus are opponents of the Capitalists.

The Religious are a conservative Catholic faction led by Reverend Estaban, a drunkard who uses rum during his sermons to worship God.

It is divided into three acts: El Presidente arrives at his new island where he begins to work toward his goal of building an ideal nation for his people.

To do so, he focuses his administration on several islands, developing the economic potential of each one, until he is ousted from power after being framed for the murder of the current US president.

After fleeing his country and assuming a new identity, El Presidente begins his revenge by establishing a base of power at Isla Oscura.

Around this time, perestroika hits the USSR and Tropico offers their assistance to the nation in exchange for evidence incriminating Nick Richards that leads to his demise.

[7] After El Presidente's success in rebuilding Tropico, he leaves on a well-deserved vacation, only to find when he returns that his lackey Penultimo has predictably run the entire nation into the ground amid the financial crisis of 2007–2008.

While working to put the country back on track, El Presidente crosses paths with the elusive shadow organization "The Conclave", and it's up to him to help save the world again while lining his pockets.

Subsequent DLC packs include Plantador, Quick Dry Cement, Pirate Heaven, Megalopolis, Vigilante, Voodoo, Propaganda!, The Academy and Apocalypse.

"[4] IGN stated that "if you’re the type that's spent hours with the likes of Civilization or SimCity, or has an unhealthy need to be in control, then it’s time to become El Presidente.

[21][22] Eurogamer wrote that the game didn't address enough of Tropico 3's limitations, stating, "It's hard not to like Tropico 4, because it's based on a solid foundation that is naturally engaging...Its tragedy is that it hasn't bothered to build anything worthwhile on top of that foundation..."[23] GamesRadar+ praised the game for its accessibility and the vast breadth of freedom present, while lamenting its lack of depth.