World of Warcraft: Forever

Get it: Included with a World of Warcraft subscription or Game Time; optional Forever packs to pre-purchase Official website

Release timeline

Dec 9, 2026
New raids Coming Blizzard The first raids unlock for level 60 characters: Hyjal Summit, a 20-player, 13-boss raid in Mount Hyjal, the Barrow Deeps, a 10-player, eight-boss raid, and the 40-player Onyxia's Lair, with weekly resets.
Nov 4, 2026
Launch Coming Blizzard World of Warcraft: Forever launches worldwide at 3:00 p.m. PST, included in a World of Warcraft subscription or Game Time: Azeroth's first year at level 60, with new zones, dungeons and the Skyborne.
Sep 17, 2026
Beta Latest Blizzard A closed beta opened at level 20 for players selected after opting in and for owners of the Skyborne Epic Pack or the Warcraft Forever Collection. The cap rose to level 30 on Oct 1, and the beta closed on Oct 23, 2026.

World of Warcraft: Forever is Blizzard Entertainment's new permanent version of World of Warcraft, set in Azeroth's first year at level 60, announced at BlizzCon on 12 September 2026 and launching on 4 November 2026. This viki covers Forever's new zones, the Skyborne, its dungeons, raids, classes and systems, and how it differs from WoW Classic and modern WoW, and every key paragraph plays the moment on YouTube that shows it.

0:01 World of Warcraft: Forever is Blizzard Entertainment's third World of Warcraft experience, launching worldwide on Nov 4, 2026 at 3:00 p.m. PST: a permanent version of the game set in Azeroth's first year, alongside modern WoW and WoW Classic. It keeps the original world, quests and level cap of 60, and adds new zones, dungeons, raids, a new race and reworked classes and systems. GameSpot, which played the BlizzCon demo, found so many changes, from reworked racial abilities and new talent trees to a new legacy perk system, that it "really feels more like a new game". Announced at BlizzCon on Sep 12, 2026 and tested in a beta that closed on Oct 23, it is included with a World of Warcraft subscription or Game Time (from $14.99 a month in the US), with no box to buy. The steps for launch night are on What to Do First. How it differs from the other versions is set out on Forever vs Classic vs Modern WoW.

Latest highlights

Updated Oct 31, 2026.

What you need on Nov 4. The Battle.net Shop lists Forever's requirements: minimum Windows 10 or macOS 12, a 4 GB graphics card, 8 GB of RAM and 128 GB on an SSD. A subscription runs from $14.99 a month and the upgrades from $29.99, as read on Oct 31. Requirements and prices.
How servers work at launch. Blizzard's All About Tech podcast of Oct 29 explains partitions, world refreshes, guild placement, Oceanic servers and faction locks: "you can pick the wrong server" is what Blizzard says it set out to end. More
Racials changed again. A final pass on Oct 26 puts racial identity first: Blood Fury on a 2-minute cooldown, Berserking at 15 seconds, Touch of the Grave at a 15-second internal cooldown, the Dwarf's Earth Fury swapped for 1% hit. More
Guides for new and returning players. Blizzard published a New Player's Starter Guide on Oct 28 and Return to Azeroth on Oct 29. New players and returning players.
Launch confirmed: Nov 4, 3:00 p.m. PST. Blizzard's launch announcement of Oct 29, 2026 confirms one global moment, 23:00 UTC on Nov 4: 8:00 p.m. in Brazil, 11:00 p.m. in the UK, midnight in central Europe, and 7:00 a.m. in Taiwan, 8:00 a.m. in Korea and 10:00 a.m. AEDT on Nov 5. Early name reservation runs to Nov 3, and the first new raids follow on Dec 9. British Columbia, which stopped changing its clocks this year, gets 4:00 p.m. More
The beta has closed. It ended at 10:00 a.m. PDT on Oct 23, 2026, two days later than first planned, and character creation and early name reservation opened on Oct 27; on the End of Beta Special podcast of Oct 22 the developers called it one of Blizzard's biggest betas. It had opened on Sep 17 to players selected after opting in and to owners of the Skyborne Epic Pack or the Warcraft Forever Collection, with hour-long queues on the first day. Blizzard raised its population cap several times, and executive producer Holly Longdale said it was "setting records" (GameSpot, Sep 28). More
The Stress Test ran on Oct 21. Blizzard opened Forever to everyone on its regional launch hardware on Oct 21, 2026 (moved from Oct 19), from 2:00 to 6:00 p.m. PDT (19:00 to 03:00 CEST), with no subscription, Game Time or beta access; its characters were deleted and the beta came back that evening after "a small snag". More
From beta to launch. The last weekly beta build, on Oct 15, 2026, rebuilt the racial abilities, added a tutorial for new players, made many buffs raid wide and barred the Horde from the open-world city of Dalaran, Blizzard's development notes show. Launch-day patch notes and a date for Hardcore are not announced as of Oct 31. More
Level 30 and two more dungeons. The beta's level cap rose from 20 to 30 on Oct 1 with the Excavation Site in the Wetlands, and the City of Dalaran opened on Oct 8, when Blizzard also raised experience from dungeon kills by about 20%. More
Darkspear Islands detailed. Blizzard's preview of Oct 7 puts the 15 versus 15 battleground off the shores of Dustwallow Marsh for levels 30 to 60, with four capture points and a central flag; the first team to 2,000 points wins. More
PvP ranks return. Honor buys PvP gear and Rank Points climb the original ranks toward High Warlord and Grand Marshal, with a weekly cap and seasons of weekly tasks, Blizzard explained on Oct 7. More
Standard-definition Skyborne in early 2027. Testers found the HD-only Skyborne jarring beside the original world, and on Oct 7 Blizzard agreed: SD Skyborne models and Druid forms are coming in early 2027, and the HD Druid forms have been reworked. More
Three raids on Dec 9. Blizzard's raid overview of Oct 20 puts the 40-player Onyxia's Lair on Dec 9 with the Barrow Deeps (10 players, eight bosses) and Hyjal Summit (20 players, 13 bosses), not at launch as a Sep 23 explainer had said; Onyxia needs the Drakefire Amulet attunement. More
Class deep dives for all nine classes. Between Sep 30 and Oct 15 Blizzard detailed every class, the Paladin last; talents start at level 10 and Dual Specialization at level 40. More
Names in two parts. Every character has a first and a second name, unique together across the region, and Blizzard's ruleset article of Sep 21 set out who can group and fight together on the Normal, PvP and Roleplaying rulesets. More
Legacy in full. Blizzard's guide of Sep 23 lists 65 Legacy Challenges in six categories and four rewards at launch; every beta tester was granted 16 points on Oct 8 to try the system. More
Gold buyers banned. Blizzard had closed over 2,100 gold-buying accounts and almost 1,600 gold-selling or botting accounts on the beta by Oct 8, and GDKP raids will not be allowed. More
Collector's Edition restocked. A second run went on sale on Sep 24, with orders expected to arrive in February 2027, and Blizzard now lists what is in the box, including a 13-inch dwarf and bear statue. More
Older graphics cards dropped. From launch Forever needs a graphics card from AMD's Graphics Core Next 1, NVIDIA's Maxwell or Intel's Skylake generation or newer, Blizzard said on Sep 17. More

5:11 "There are still adventures worth telling in the original world of Azeroth," the team told the What's Next panel, so Forever is "not expanding away from Azeroth, but expanding deeper inside of it".

A painting of four adventurers seen from behind on a rocky outcrop: a stocky fighter in green plate with a blue ponytail and a hammer, a small purple-haired gnome with an orb-topped staff, a human woman in scale armor holding a sword and round shield, and a white-haired night elf in a long blue robe with a staff topped by a crescent moon. They look past red rock spires and a forest village toward a great tree on top of a distant mountain, with sea beyond, under a bright, cloudy sky. — Four Alliance adventurers, a human woman with sword and shield, a stocky fighter with a hammer, a gnome and a night elf with a crescent-topped staff, look from a rocky peak toward a vast tree on a distant mountain, in official World of Warcraft: Forever key art. Blizzard Entertainment

Quick facts

Get it	Included with a World of Warcraft subscription or Game Time; optional Forever packs to pre-purchase
Developer and publisher	Blizzard Entertainment, made by the WoW Classic team
Platforms	Windows and macOS
Setting	Azeroth's first year, after Warcraft III Reforged: Forsaken Kingdom and before Molten Core
Level cap	60, with no level cap increases planned
Announced	Sep 12, 2026, at BlizzCon 2026
Beta	Sep 17 to Oct 23, 2026 (extended from Oct 21); level cap 30 since Oct 1
Early name reservation	Oct 27 to Nov 3, 2026, with any upgrade
Launch	Nov 4, 2026, 3:00 p.m. PST, worldwide
Access	Included with a World of Warcraft subscription or Game Time; optional paid upgrades (Price and Subscription)
Rulesets at launch	Normal, PvP, Roleplay, Roleplay-PvP (no realm list)
Minimum PC	Windows 10 or macOS 12, 4 GB GPU, 8 GB RAM, 128 GB SSD (System Requirements)
New at launch	Three zones, over 1,000 quests, nine dungeons, the Skyborne race
Raids	The Barrow Deeps, Hyjal Summit and Onyxia's Lair unlock on Dec 9, 2026
Hardcore	Coming after launch
Executive producer	Holly Longdale

What Forever is

0:52 Forever begins when the original game began. Blizzard's Found Photographs panel explained that it "contains all of the original quest content from the original game and builds on top of it", in the "year one" period before The Burning Crusade: "we intend to occupy this space and expand upon it indefinitely". Blizzard calls it "not a mode, a season, or a new version of Classic", and sets it after Warcraft III Reforged: Forsaken Kingdom, the campaign released at BlizzCon, and before Molten Core.

4:56 Forever also has its own story. It "does not exist in the same continuity as modern World of Warcraft", a separation Chris Metzen calls "our little time bubble". New stories still "paint inside the lines of established foundational lore as much as possible".

Where it came from

1:08 Blizzard traces Forever to players who, "even back then in 2020 or so", thought the original game "just about the perfect MMO" and asked: "What if we could stay at level 60?" The Classic team of the time was built to restore the old game, not to add to it, so the idea waited while players debated what "Classic Plus" should be.

3:26 Season of Discovery, from 2023, tested how much change the original game could take. By the middle of 2024 the team was certain the vision was "not only possible, but compelling", and players had asked for "a forever home where their investment would be meaningful". The "found photographs" approach behind Forever's stories, things that could have happened in the original era, was coined by Chris Metzen in early Season of Discovery talks. See Development History and BlizzCon 2026 Reveal.

6:17 The team sorts new content into three kinds: the anticipated, places players knew of but could never explore, such as Mount Hyjal; the new but familiar, such as The Riverglades; and the unexpected, such as the Skyborne homeland of Zephras Isle, which Blizzard plans to introduce "sparingly".

Design pillars

6:21 Blizzard builds Forever on four pillars: approachable and familiar, the world as the main character, journey before destination, and protecting social experiences. The first means every addition must feel "like it belongs", and it came with two hard lines, cheered by the audience: "you won't find flying mounts" and "you won't find level scaling".

7:24 For the world, "levelling is just as important as endgame", with new zones, quests and rewards across all levels. For the journey, "we're not planning around future level cap increases that invalidate your accomplishments", and the catch-up system is simply to "play the game". Social play shapes new systems such as Camping, and Blizzard says every patch will include content for solo players, dungeon groups, raiders and PvP players.

Launch content

41:26 Blizzard's launch count is three new zones, over 1,000 new quests, nine new dungeons, two new raids (which unlock on Dec 9) and the new Skyborne race. Closing the What's Next panel, Clay Stone, associate production director on the WoW Classic and WoW Forever team, called all that "only a glimpse" and named more: new professions content, new reputations, reworked item rewards, a new PvP system, the first new legendary, a riding skill change, official gamepad support and previously unfinished and unused content from the original game.

Zones

10:45 The panel introduced four new regions. Mount Hyjal is an endgame zone set after Archimonde's defeat, with Darkwhisper Gorge. The Riverglades, on the eastern coast of the Eastern Kingdoms, is a major leveling zone for the mid-30s to mid-40s with more than 150 new quests. Zephras Isle is the Skyborne starting zone for levels 1 to 12, and Shen'dralas is a new area near Desolace. Existing zones gain new quests and ship routes; see Updated Zones and Quests.

Races and classes

16:39 The Skyborne, descendants of highborne exiles who built a civilization in the elemental realm of Skywall, are a new playable race, and "not a neutral race": players choose Horde or Alliance at character creation. Horde Skyborne can be Shamans and Alliance Skyborne Mages, and both can be Warriors, Hunters, Rogues and Druids. The race comes with the optional Skyborne Heroic Pack and the higher upgrades; see Upgrades and Editions.

36:52 The original races gain six new race and class combinations: Gnome Priest, Human Hunter, Dwarf Shaman, Orc Mage, Troll Warlock and Undead Paladin. Every race now has two active and two passive racials; see New Race and Class Combinations and Races and Racials.

A painting of four adventurers on a mossy cliff at sunset: a horned tauren holding a bow, a green-skinned warrior in studded armor with a blue crest of hair and an axe, a blue-skinned figure with long magenta hair in a red robe holding a crystal-topped staff, and a blue-skinned figure in golden scale armor kneeling with a golden weapon. Below lie a golden-domed city among pines and a lake with wooded islands, and beyond rise a city of slender spires, a sailing ship in the sky and snow-capped mountains with a smoking volcano. — Four Horde adventurers, a tauren with a bow, a green-skinned warrior with an axe and two blue-skinned companions, one robed and one kneeling in golden armor, overlook a lake and a city of slender spires, in official World of Warcraft: Forever key art. Blizzard Entertainment

29:52 Blizzard wants to keep "the feel and pacing of combat" of WoW Classic: classes stay distinct, with "no homogenization", a solo kill takes roughly 10 to 15 seconds, and crowd control and threat still matter. Talent trees keep their Classic shape with a new 16-point milestone, buff talents are now baseline, hit and critical strike chance are combined across all attacks, and healing gear also adds damage. See Classes and Talents, Paladin and Items and Stats.

Dungeons, raids and PvP

19:29 Nine new dungeons span the leveling journey. The panel's tour begins in the Alterac Mountains, where the barrier over the rebuilt City of Dalaran is down, and takes in the Ruins of Lordaeron, the Hall of Thanes beneath Ironforge, an excavation site in the Wetlands, the Drowned City off Stranglethorn Vale (playable on the BlizzCon show floor), Alcaz Prison, Shaper's Terrace, Krol'dok Stronghold and Blackmaw Hold. See Dungeons.

27:24 Two raids unlock on Dec 9, 2026: The Barrow Deeps, where the night elves hold dangerous prisoners, for 10 players, and Hyjal Summit for 20, "by far our largest raid in WoW Forever". A legendary reward is planned, and the original iconic raids "have not opened yet". Blizzard's explainer video of Sep 23 said the 40-player Onyxia's Lair would be available at launch, but its raid overview of Oct 20 puts Onyxia's Lair on Dec 9 with the two new raids (Blizzard).

29:34 Darkspear Islands is a new 15 versus 15 battleground off the coast of Dustwallow Marsh in Kalimdor, for levels 30 to 60, following Eye of the Storm's rules with flag captures in the style of Arathi Basin. The classic battlegrounds remain, and a new system of Honor, Rank Points and seasons covers PvP Progression.

Systems

3:46 The cooking fire becomes the Basic Campfire, a campsite where players rest for vendors, repairs, trade skill workspaces and one-hour buffs from profession objects that other players place. Professions gain over 600 new recipes.

13:26 Legacy, inspired by players leveling again and again in Hardcore, rewards alts: Legacy Challenges earn points for every character on the account, spent in three trees, with 16 points spendable at launch.

21:57 There is no realm list: "we're going realmless". Players choose a Normal, PvP or Roleplaying ruleset, or Roleplay-PvP, which Blizzard added for launch on Oct 22, 2026, with Hardcore after launch; factions stay separate, groups form only within a ruleset, and every character has a two-part name, unique across the region. See Rulesets and Servers and Realms.

38:52 Transmog is "entirely opt-in", and choosing Classic Mode at first login turns it off. See Transmogrification.

39:58 Blizzard calls the original art style "timeless" and keeps it, while improving effects such as rivers, fog and moonlight. Character models switch game-wide between the original standard-definition designs and HD models with restored Classic animations. See Graphics and Visuals.

Dates and access

43:04 After launch on Nov 4, 2026, the new raids unlock on Dec 9, 2026, followed by "even more new raids, new dungeons, PvP updates, world content", new quests and, in a summer update, a "revamped iconic raid". Blizzard added that "nothing is off the table. Not even a new class." See Release and Roadmap and Beta.

Forever is included with a World of Warcraft subscription or Game Time. Its beta, open from Sep 17 to players selected after opting in and to owners of the larger upgrades, closed at 10:00 a.m. PDT on Oct 23, 2026, and standard-definition Skyborne models are due in early 2027. The optional Skyborne Heroic Pack ($29.99) adds the Skyborne race and early name reservation from Oct 27 to Nov 3, 2026; the Skyborne Epic Pack ($59.99) adds 30 days of Game Time; and the Warcraft Forever Collection ($79.99, on sale until Jan 11, 2027) adds Warcraft III: Reforged and the Forsaken Kingdom campaign. A physical Collector's Edition is sold through the Blizzard Gear Store; orders from its Sep 24 restock are expected to arrive in February 2027.

Frequently asked questions

Is Forever a new version of WoW Classic? No. Blizzard calls it "not a mode, a season, or a new version of Classic". It is made by the WoW Classic team, but it adds new content and systems and is built to last.

Will the level cap rise above 60? Blizzard says it is not planning level cap increases that would invalidate players' accomplishments.

Does Forever cost extra? It is included with a World of Warcraft subscription or Game Time. The Skyborne race and cosmetics come with optional upgrades from $29.99, as read on the Battle.net Shop on Oct 31, 2026.

Is Forever part of modern WoW's story? No. It has its own continuity, which Chris Metzen calls a "time bubble".

Can I still join the beta? No. It closed at 10:00 a.m. PDT on Oct 23, 2026. The game itself opens on Nov 4, 2026.

When does World of Warcraft: Forever come out? On Nov 4, 2026 at 3:00 p.m. PST (23:00 UTC), worldwide. Blizzard confirmed it in its launch announcement of Oct 29, 2026.

Can my PC run World of Warcraft: Forever? Blizzard's minimum is Windows 10 64-bit or macOS 12, a 4 GB graphics card, 8 GB of RAM and 128 GB of SSD space. The full list is on System Requirements.

Does Forever have realms? No. Players choose a ruleset, and each is a large shared world in their region.

Sources

World of Warcraft: Forever Goes Live Globally November 4!, Return to Azeroth in World of Warcraft: Forever, Blizzard Entertainment, Oct 29, 2026
New Player's Starter Guide: Welcome to World of Warcraft: Forever, Blizzard Entertainment, Oct 28, 2026
World of Warcraft: Forever Raid Overview: Locations, Raid Sizes, and Attunement, Blizzard Entertainment, Oct 20, 2026
Join the World of Warcraft: Forever Stress Test, Blizzard Entertainment, Oct 15, 2026, updated Oct 16, 2026
Heads Up -- WoW Forever Stress Test on October 21, Blizzard Entertainment (Kaivax), World of Warcraft forums, Oct 20, 2026
Testing WoW Forever Today - October 21, Blizzard Entertainment (Kaivax), and Forever Beta Will Return Shortly, Blizzard Entertainment (Zorbrix), World of Warcraft forums, Oct 21, 2026
Carve a New Path with World of Warcraft: Forever, Blizzard Entertainment, September 2026
Everything Announced at BlizzCon 2026 Opening Ceremony, Blizzard Entertainment, Sep 12, 2026
World of Warcraft: Forever What's Next Panel Recap, Blizzard Entertainment, September 2026
World of Warcraft: Forever Deep Dive Panel Recap, Blizzard Entertainment, September 2026
World of Warcraft: Forever Found Photos Panel Recap, Blizzard Entertainment via Wowhead Blue Tracker, September 2026
Pre-Purchase World of Warcraft: Forever Upgrades and Begin Your Next Journey in Azeroth, Blizzard Entertainment, September 2026
The World of Warcraft: Forever Beta Now Live, Blizzard Entertainment, Sep 17, 2026
WoW Forever Beta Development Notes - Updated October 26, Blizzard Entertainment (Kaivax), World of Warcraft forums, Sep 24 to Oct 26, 2026
World of Warcraft: Forever product page and World of Warcraft Subscription, Battle.net Shop, read Oct 31, 2026
All About Tech ft. @Shobek | Episode 6 - The WoW: Forever Podcast, World of Warcraft, Oct 29, 2026 (video)
Battle for the Darkspear Islands in World of Warcraft: Forever and How PvP Progression in World of Warcraft: Forever Works, Blizzard Entertainment, Oct 7, 2026
World of Warcraft: Forever- The Future of Skyborne Visual Updates, Blizzard Entertainment, Oct 7, 2026
Choose Your Ruleset in World of Warcraft: Forever and Create a Name of Your Own in WoW: Forever, Blizzard Entertainment, Sep 21, 2026
Get to Know the World of Warcraft: Forever Legacy System, Blizzard Entertainment, Sep 23, 2026
Pre-Purchase the World of Warcraft: Forever Collector's Edition (updated Sep 24), Blizzard Entertainment, Sep 24, 2026
World of Warcraft: Forever GPU Requirements, Blizzard Entertainment, Sep 17, 2026
WoW: Forever's Beta Just Keeps Getting Bigger, GameSpot, Sep 28, 2026
World of Warcraft: Forever - What's Next Panel | BlizzCon 2026, Sep 13, 2026, World of Warcraft: Forever - Deep Dive | BlizzCon 2026, Sep 13, 2026, and World of Warcraft: Forever - Found Photographs | BlizzCon 2026, Sep 15, 2026, World of Warcraft (videos)
What is World of Warcraft: Forever?, World of Warcraft, Sep 23, 2026 (video)

Moments

WoW Forever Preview Impressions | Blizzcon 2026

GameSpot

0:01 World of Warcraft: Forever is Blizzard Entertainment's third World of Warcraft experience, launching worldwide on Nov…