World of Warcraft: Forever
Home All pages
All vikis
Aion 2AnantaARC RaidersArcheAge ChroniclesCall of Duty: Modern Warfare 4Chrono OdysseyCivilization 3Civilization 4Crimson DesertDeadlockDiablo 4Diablo 5EnshroudedFableFinal Fantasy ResonanceFootball Manager 27Grand Theft Auto 6Heroes of Might and Magic 3Heroes of Might and Magic: Olden EraKingdom Come: Deliverance 2Path of Exile 2Phantom Blade ZeroProbably StolenSlay the Spire 2
Start your own viki
World of Warcraft: Forever is coming Nov 4, 2026Worldwide, at 3:00 p.m. PST

3Days02Hours12Minutes32Seconds

Release and Roadmap

Every announced date for World of Warcraft: Forever: the beta from Sep 17 to Oct 23, 2026 (closed), early name reservation and character creation from Oct 27, Invite-A-Friend, the global launch on Nov 4, 2026, the first raids on Dec 9, standard-definition Skyborne models in early 2027 and Blizzard's roadmap beyond, including Hardcore.

World of Warcraft: Forever launches worldwide on Nov 4, 2026 at 3:00 p.m. PST, and its first raids follow on Dec 9, with access included in a World of Warcraft subscription or Game Time. Blizzard announced the date at BlizzCon on Sep 12, 2026, together with a beta from Sep 17 to Oct 21, 2026 (extended to Oct 23), and early name reservation from Oct 27. "I'll see you in game on November 4th," Associate Production Director Clay Stone told the What's Next panel. "Beta starts this Thursday." The beta opened on schedule and closed at 10:00 a.m. PDT on Oct 23 after a two-day extension, but Blizzard has moved none of the other dates, and it repeated the launch time in its Collector's Edition update of Sep 24 and again in its launch announcement of Oct 29, 2026, with local times for each region (Blizzard). After December, Blizzard's roadmap promises more raids and dungeons, PvP updates, world content and quests, Hardcore, and a revamped iconic raid, and Blizzard has since added standard-definition Skyborne models for early 2027. Every date still ahead is an announced plan, as of Oct 31, 2026.

Quick facts

Beta Sep 17 to Oct 23, 2026, closed at 10:00 a.m. PDT (extended from Oct 21); level cap 30 from Oct 1
Stress Test Oct 21, 2026, 2:00 to 6:00 p.m. PDT (19:00 to 03:00 CEST), open to anyone (moved from Oct 19)
Original soundtrack Released on Oct 13, 2026: 19 tracks, about 42 minutes
Invite-A-Friend codes Sent from Oct 20, 2026
Early name reservation Oct 27 to Nov 3, 2026, up to three characters
Poster signing Nov 2, 2026 at the Irvine Improv, Irvine; free tickets on TIXR from Oct 27 at 12:00 p.m. PDT, attendance limited
Global launch Nov 4, 2026, 3:00 p.m. PST
Invite-A-Friend launch week Nov 4 to 11, 2026
First raids Dec 9, 2026: the Barrow Deeps (10 players), Hyjal Summit (20) and Onyxia's Lair (40)
Hardcore After launch; the winter slot on the roadmap shown at BlizzCon
Standard-definition Skyborne Early 2027
Revamped iconic raid Summer, on the same roadmap
Warcraft Forever Collection On sale until Jan 11, 2027

Timeline

Sep 12, 2026 Forever announced at the BlizzCon 2026 opening ceremony; What's Next panel
Sep 13, 2026 Deep Dive, Found Photographs, Evolving a Timeless World and Hardcore panels
Sep 17, 2026 Beta opens at level 20; live Q&A; GPU requirements published
Sep 21 to 23, 2026 Articles on rulesets, two-part names, the Skyborne, races and classes, and Legacy
Sep 24, 2026 First beta development notes; first WoW: Forever Podcast; Collector's Edition restock
Sep 30, 2026 Class deep dives: Hunter and Druid, Priest and Warrior
Oct 1, 2026 Beta level cap raised to 30; Excavation Site: Wetlands opens for testing
Oct 7, 2026 Darkspear Islands and PvP progression detailed; Skyborne visual updates; class deep dives: Mage and Shaman, Rogue and Warlock
Oct 8, 2026 The City of Dalaran dungeon opens in the beta
Oct 9, 2026 Holly Longdale and Clay Stone's PAX Aus keynote, billed with a deep dive into a Forever dungeon (Oct 8 in the Americas); Your Adventure Begins video
Oct 13, 2026 World of Warcraft: Forever (Original Soundtrack) released on streaming services and Blizzard's YouTube channel
Oct 15, 2026 Stress Test dated; the last class deep dive: Paladin; the last weekly beta build (racials rebuilt, a new-player tutorial)
Oct 16, 2026 Stress Test moved from Oct 19 to Oct 21
Oct 20, 2026 Invite-A-Friend launch codes start going out; beta extended to Oct 23
Oct 21, 2026 Stress Test from 2:00 to 6:00 p.m. PDT, open to anyone
Oct 22, 2026 End of Beta Special podcast; a farewell celebration on the beta; the Roleplay-PvP ruleset announced
Oct 23, 2026 Beta closed at 10:00 a.m. PDT; Escape Together, a Scarlet Monastery escape room stream from Toronto
Oct 26, 2026 A final pass over racials for launch; the short story "Unbowed"
Oct 27 to Nov 3, 2026 Early name reservation, from 1:00 p.m. PDT (18:00 CET) on Oct 27; restricted-name and Oceanic ruleset bugs reported the same day
Oct 27, 2026 Blizzard names the WoW Portal Room as Forever's official Discord for finding a community
Oct 28, 2026 New Player's Starter Guide
Oct 29, 2026 Launch announcement with local times; Return to Azeroth guide; All About Tech, the last podcast before launch
Nov 2, 2026 WoW: Forever poster signing at the Irvine Improv in Irvine, California, with developers from the game (announced Oct 26): free tickets on TIXR from Oct 27 at 12:00 p.m. PDT, attendance limited, each guest in an assigned arrival window with a QR code scanned at a check-in tent outside the venue, no entry without a ticket; the venue is ADA compliant
Nov 4, 2026, 3:00 p.m. PST Global launch
Nov 4 to 11, 2026 Invite-A-Friend launch week
Dec 9, 2026 The Barrow Deeps, Hyjal Summit and Onyxia's Lair unlock
Jan 11, 2027 Last day to buy the Warcraft Forever Collection
Winter Hardcore (roadmap)
Early 2027 Standard-definition Skyborne models
February 2027 Collector's Edition restock orders delivered
Spring More raids and dungeons, quests and a PvP season (MadSeasonShow's reading of the roadmap)
Summer A revamped iconic raid (roadmap)

Before launch

The beta opened on Sep 17, 2026, as planned, and ran until 10:00 a.m. PDT on Oct 23 (extended on Oct 20 from Oct 21), for players selected after opting in and for those with the Skyborne Epic Pack or the Warcraft Forever Collection. Blizzard's graphics team had closed its Evolving a Timeless World panel on Sep 13 hoping players would "get to play the beta when it's released next week" and enjoy the game "when we launch WoW Forever on November 4th". The beta began at level 20, rose to level 30 on Oct 1, and added the Excavation Site in the Wetlands and the City of Dalaran in the builds of Oct 1 and Oct 8; Blizzard also promised a Server Slam, a few hours when anyone can play, and on Oct 15, 2026 it set the date, Monday, Oct 19, then on Oct 16 moved it to Wednesday, Oct 21: the World of Warcraft: Forever Stress Test ran from 2:00 to 6:00 p.m. PDT (19:00 to 03:00 CEST) on Forever's regional launch hardware for anyone with no subscription, Game Time or beta access, and its characters were deleted afterward. The details are on Beta.

Blizzard has kept the news coming during the test, with articles on Rulesets, the Skyborne, Legacy, the classes and PvP Progression, a weekly podcast, and on Oct 9, Your Adventure Begins, a video tour of the leveling journey from a new character's first quests to "more than 1000 new quests added across Azeroth" and the campsites cooks can put down for passing players.

The music came out three weeks before the game. World of Warcraft: Forever (Original Soundtrack), 19 tracks and about 42 minutes, was released on Oct 13, 2026 on music streaming services and on Blizzard's World of Warcraft YouTube channel, after music designer Adam Burgess announced it the day before. Its tracks are named for Forever's new places, opening with "Zephras Isle" and "Skyborne", passing "Riverglades" and "Hyjal" and closing with "Summit Of Eternity", and Icy Veins credits Adam Burgess, Brendon Williams, David Arkenstone, Neal Acree and Jason Hayes as composers, with Derek Duke as music director.

Early name reservation runs from Oct 27 to Nov 3, 2026, PST, for players with the Skyborne Heroic Pack or a larger upgrade. They can create and customize up to three characters, and names are reserved first come, first served; in Forever a full name has two parts and must be unique across the region (see Rulesets). Invite-A-Friend launch codes, one with the Heroic Pack and three with the Epic Pack or the Collection, went out from Oct 20, 2026 for launch week, Nov 4 to 11, 2026. The packs are described on Upgrades and Editions.

Name reservation doubled as a rehearsal. "We had some hiccups on Tuesday," Josh "Aggrend" Greenfield said on the last podcast before launch, on Oct 29, and the period "helps us kind of get a sense of what launch day is going to look like". The next episode, on lore, comes two weeks later, the show said.

Launch day

The global launch is set for Nov 4, 2026 at 3:00 p.m. PST; the steps for that evening are on What to Do First. MadSeasonShow, opening his summary of everything announced, noted that the release date was "just a couple of months away" from BlizzCon, with a beta on the 17th for "those who want an early look". Kotaku's Rebekah Valentine called the date "sooner than I think anyone expected". The 30 days of Game Time in the Skyborne Epic Pack begin on launch day. For launch, Blizzard lists three new zones, over 1,000 new quests, nine new dungeons and the new Skyborne race; the two new raids follow five weeks later. From launch, Forever needs a graphics card from AMD's Graphics Core Next 1, NVIDIA's Maxwell or Intel's Skylake generation or newer (see System Requirements).

Onyxia's Lair was first said to be there from the first day. Blizzard's explainer video "What is World of Warcraft: Forever?", released on Sep 23, says most raids are now built for 10 or 20 players, that "the 40 player raid, Onyxia's Lair, is available at launch", and that more such experiences will come "occasionally" alongside the 10-player and 20-player updates. Defeating Onyxia is one of the three raid challenges of the Legacy system. Blizzard's raid overview of Oct 20, 2026 puts Onyxia's Lair on Dec 9 instead, with the two new raids: "On December 9, level 60 players can put their preparation, teamwork, and mastery of their classes to the test in three raids: Barrow Deeps, Hyjal Summit, and Onyxia's Lair." Each raider needs the Drakefire Amulet, earned through a faction attunement questline that runs through Blackrock Depths and Blackrock Spire, and Blizzard advises building fire resistance before the fight (Blizzard).

Dec 9: the first new raids

"We have big plans for the coming months," Stone told the What's Next panel. "You will see new raids unlock on December 9th," followed by more new raids, new dungeons, PvP updates and world content, all "in addition to the original vanilla WoW content", and new quests across the 1 to 60 journey as Blizzard adds to "this horizontally expanding evergreen classic Azeroth". The two new raids are Hyjal Summit, for 20 players with 13 bosses, and The Barrow Deeps, for 10 with eight. Blizzard's raid overview of Oct 20, 2026 adds the 40-player Onyxia's Lair to the same date and says all raids are currently planned to reset weekly (Blizzard).

Hardcore

Stone pointed to "a big gap right there, right around the winter time frame" on the roadmap before explaining it. After a story about what Hardcore had meant to the Classic team, he announced that Hardcore "will be coming to WoW Forever as well".

It will not be ready on Nov 4. "We won't have it at launch, but soon," the Hardcore panel said on Sep 13, and the Deep Dive panel the same day described Hardcore as a ruleset available "post launch". Blizzard's ruleset article of Sep 21 says it "will be available sometime after launch", still without a date. How it will work is covered on Hardcore and Rulesets.

Early 2027: standard-definition Skyborne

The first addition dated after launch came from beta feedback. The Skyborne launch with high-definition models only, and players found them "jarring" next to the standard-definition world, Blizzard wrote on Oct 7, agreeing; standard-definition Skyborne models, Druid forms included, are in development and "arriving early 2027". Josh Greenfield told the third WoW: Forever Podcast on Oct 8 that they will come in the game's "first kind of major update" in early 2027.

Spring, summer and beyond

MadSeasonShow read the roadmap slide in his summary video. He notes that players will have "just over a month" after launch to reach level 60 for the raids' first day. On his reading, Hardcore follows "sometime in the winter". Spring brings unnamed 10-player and 20-player raids, two new dungeons, new quests, a new playable area, a legendary questline and a new PvP season. Summer brings the first revamped iconic raid, which he guesses "has to be Molten Core", with another new raid, more world content, two more dungeons, another PvP season, and updates to professions and the Legacy system.

Blizzard has not named the raid. Stone pointed to the "major updates box" in summer at the far end of the roadmap and its words "revamped iconic raid", and used it to restate the setting: Forever "takes place at the beginning of World of Warcraft", and "the original iconic raids that you know and love have not opened yet". Blizzard's announcement sets the game before Molten Core.

The plan can change, Stone said. The roadmap is "just a taste of the year ahead", Blizzard has "room to pivot based on community feedback", and "nothing is off the table. Not even a new class."

Frequently asked questions

When does World of Warcraft: Forever launch? On Nov 4, 2026 at 3:00 p.m. PST, worldwide. Blizzard confirmed the date and hour in its launch announcement of Oct 29, 2026.

When did the beta end? At 10:00 a.m. PDT on Friday, Oct 23, 2026. Blizzard had extended it by two days on Oct 20; it was due to end after Oct 21. It opened on Sep 17. Character creation opened next, on Oct 27.

When was the World of Warcraft: Forever Server Slam? On Oct 21, 2026, from 2:00 to 6:00 p.m. PDT (19:00 to 03:00 CEST; Oct 22 in Taiwan and Korea), moved from Oct 19, as the World of Warcraft: Forever Stress Test. It was open to anyone, and no other is announced before launch as of Oct 31, 2026.

When can I reserve my character's name? Until Nov 3, 2026, PST (it opened on Oct 27), with any World of Warcraft: Forever upgrade, for up to three characters; names are first come, first served, and a full two-part name must be unique across the region.

When do Invite-A-Friend codes arrive? Blizzard began sending the launch codes on Oct 20, 2026, one with the Skyborne Heroic Pack and three with the Epic Pack or the Collection, for launch week, Nov 4 to 11, 2026.

Is the World of Warcraft: Forever soundtrack out? Yes. The original soundtrack, 19 tracks and about 42 minutes, came out on Oct 13, 2026 on streaming services and on the official World of Warcraft YouTube channel.

When do the raids open? On Dec 9, 2026, five weeks after launch: the Barrow Deeps (10 players), Hyjal Summit (20) and Onyxia's Lair (40), according to Blizzard's raid overview of Oct 20, 2026. An explainer video of Sep 23 had said Onyxia's Lair would be available at launch.

When does name reservation start? On Oct 27, 2026 at 1:00 p.m. PDT in North America and 18:00 CET in Europe (Oct 28 at 07:00 in Korea and Taiwan), for up to three characters in total across all rulesets.

Is Hardcore available at launch? No. Blizzard says it comes after launch. The roadmap shown at BlizzCon puts it in the winter, without a date.

When do standard-definition Skyborne models arrive? In early 2027, Blizzard says, in the first major update after launch.

Will the level cap go above 60? Blizzard says it is "not planning around future level cap increases".

How long can the Warcraft Forever Collection be bought? Until Jan 11, 2027.

What comes after the December raids? Blizzard's roadmap names Hardcore in the winter, standard-definition Skyborne models in early 2027, and a revamped iconic raid in the summer, alongside more raids, dungeons, PvP seasons and world content. Blizzard calls it "just a taste of the year ahead" and says it can change with feedback.

Sources

Moments

World of Warcraft: Forever - What's Next Panel | BlizzCon 2026

World of Warcraft

  1. World of Warcraft: Forever launches worldwide on Nov 4, 2026 at 3:00 p.m. PST, and its first raids follow on Dec 9…
  2. "We have big plans for the coming months," Stone told the What's Next panel. "You will see new raids unlock on…
  3. Stone pointed to "a big gap right there, right around the winter time frame" on the roadmap before explaining it…
  4. Blizzard has not named the raid. Stone pointed to the "major updates box" in summer at the far end of the roadmap and…
  5. The plan can change, Stone said. The roadmap is "just a taste of the year ahead", Blizzard has "room to pivot based on…

World of Warcraft: Forever - Evolving a Timeless World | BlizzCon 2026

World of Warcraft

  1. The beta opened on Sep 17, 2026, as planned, and ran until 10:00 a.m. PDT on Oct 23 (extended on Oct 20 from Oct 21)…

World of Warcraft: Forever - Your Adventure Begins

World of Warcraft

  1. Blizzard has kept the news coming during the test, with articles on Rulesets, the Skyborne, Legacy, the classes and…

All About Tech ft. @Shobek | Episode 6 - The WoW: Forever Podcast

World of Warcraft

  1. Name reservation doubled as a rehearsal. "We had some hiccups on Tuesday," Josh "Aggrend" Greenfield said on the last…

World of Warcraft: Forever - Everything We Know

MadSeasonShow

  1. The global launch is set for Nov 4, 2026 at 3:00 p.m. PST; the steps for that evening are on What to Do First…
  2. MadSeasonShow read the roadmap slide in his summary video. He notes that players will have "just over a month" after…

What is World of Warcraft: Forever?

World of Warcraft

  1. Onyxia's Lair was first said to be there from the first day. Blizzard's explainer video "What is World of Warcraft…

"Go Again!" World of Warcraft: Forever Hardcore Panel | BlizzCon 2026

World of Warcraft

  1. It will not be ready on Nov 4. "We won't have it at launch, but soon," the Hardcore panel said on Sep 13, and the Deep…

Dive into Dungeons with Devs ft. @hammerdancegaming | Episode 3 - The WoW: Forever Podcast

World of Warcraft

  1. The first addition dated after launch came from beta feedback. The Skyborne launch with high-definition models only…

Every page

See also

Last updated Oct 30, 2026 by the Vi.ki team. Page text CC BY-SA 4.0.

Edit History

Hotkeys

/
Jump to the search box
? or Ctrl + /
Open this list
Esc
Close this list, the photo viewer, or the account menu

Video

Space or K
Play or pause
← →
Back or forward 5 seconds
J L
Back or forward 10 seconds
0 to 9
Go to 0% to 90% of the video
, .
Previous or next frame, while paused
M
Mute or unmute
C
Captions on or off
F
Full screen on or off
A D
Previous or next moment

Photo viewer

← → or A D
Previous or next photo
↑ ↓ or W S
Previous or next photo
Home End
First or last photo
I
Show or hide the photo's info
Z
Clickless on or off: a pointer over a thumbnail shows it
N
Compare with the last photo: back to the one shown before this, and N again comes back
Q
Move the thumbnails to the next edge: top, bottom, left and round
, or Ctrl + ,
Open or close the viewer's settings
V
Clickless pan: a zoomed photo follows the pointer, rather than being dragged
Shift
Browse on or off
B
Show or hide the button bar
T
Show or hide the thumbnails
1
100% zoom on or off
0
Rate the photo as no opinion; again takes the answer back
+ -
Rate the photo a step higher or lower
F
Full screen: the photo alone. F again puts everything back.