Wiki

effect · release

Definition

  • Supported scope:COUNTRY
  • Supported target:THIS, ROOT, PREV, FROM, OWNER, CONTROLLER, OCCUPIED, CAPITAL

Description

releases specified country as a puppet using your owned states

Hands-On Notes

Hands-on notes are AI-generated and checked against the vanilla command vocabulary — treat them as a starting point, not authoritative reference. The definition above is the game's own documentation.

Hands-On Usage

release is commonly used in event scripts or decisions to allow a major power to release an occupied region as a puppet state under specific conditions. Typical scenarios include post-war peace settlements, national liberation movements, or historical independence events. Note that this command only uses states already owned by the executing country to form the puppet, so you must ensure the relevant states have been transferred to your ownership beforehand.

# Example: Germany releases Poland as a puppet through a decision
release = POL

Synergy

  • [transfer_state](/wiki/effect/transfer_state) (alternative outside whitelist: [every_owned_state](/wiki/effect/every_owned_state)): Use a loop before release to transfer ownership of all core states of the target nation to the executing country, ensuring sufficient territory when releasing.
  • [add_state_core](/wiki/effect/add_state_core): Add core states to the nation being released to prevent the puppet state from having incomplete territory due to missing cores.
  • [exists](/wiki/trigger/exists): Use for pre-checks—only execute release if the target nation does not yet exist on the map, preventing duplicate trigger conflicts.
  • [diplomatic_relation](/wiki/effect/diplomatic_relation): Immediately after release, use this command to adjust diplomatic rules with the new puppet state (such as setting guarantees or military access), completing the suzerain-puppet diplomatic chain.

Common Pitfalls

  1. Calling release without the executing country holding the corresponding states: release can only form puppets using states "owned" by the executing country. If the target nation's core states are controlled or owned by another country at that moment, the release will result in a hollow state with incomplete territory or may fail entirely. You must confirm state ownership before executing release.
  2. Using outside of COUNTRY scope: This command only takes effect within a country scope. If mistakenly placed in a state scope or unit leader scope, the game will not report an error but will silently ignore the command, rendering your script logic ineffective.