WoW: Forever release date is 4 November; the beta ran 17 September to 23 October
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World of Warcraft: Forever launches on 4 November 2026 at 3:00 p.m. Pacific, worldwide, per Blizzard's announcement and its panel recap. The beta (the test version) closed on 23 October: Blizzard's thank-you post that day says it "is now closed", and that character creation would open on 27 October. You don't buy the game itself: it comes with a World of Warcraft subscription or with Game Time, which is subscription time paid for up front.
The dates Blizzard has given
| What | When | Blizzard's own wording |
|---|---|---|
| Beta | 17 September to 23 October 2026, now closed | "The WoW Forever Beta is now closed" |
| Stress test, open to anyone with a WoW account | 21 October 2026, 2:00 to 6:00 p.m. PDT | "Any player with a WoW account is eligible to play the WoW Forever Stress Test" |
| Friend invite codes sent | From 20 October 2026 | "Codes will be delivered by email beginning October 20, 2026, PST" |
| Character creation opens | 27 October 2026 | "we’ll open access to the character creation system on Tuesday, October 27" |
| Early name reservation | 27 October (1:00 p.m. PDT in North America, 18:00 CET in Europe) to 3 November 2026 | "available from October 27 through November 3" |
| Launch | 4 November 2026, 3:00 p.m. PST (23:00 UTC, our maths) | "globally on November 4, 2026, at 3:00 p.m. PST" |
| Invited friends can play | 4 to 11 November 2026 | "during launch week, from November 4 through November 11, 2026, PST" |
| First raids: the Barrow Deeps, Hyjal Summit and Onyxia's Lair | 9 December 2026 | "Barrow Deeps, Hyjal Summit, and Onyxia's Lair unlock on December 9" |
Where Blizzard's wording carries no year, the year is ours. Early name reservation also has its own piece, with every region's start time and who can reserve.
Converting the launch hour, and this part is our maths rather than Blizzard's. Clocks on the US west coast go back an hour on 1 November, so launch day falls on Pacific Standard Time. That makes 3:00 p.m. PST 23:00 UTC, 6:00 p.m. in New York, 11:00 p.m. in London, and midnight going into 5 November in Paris. Blizzard's announcement wrote the hour as PDT once and PST once. The panel recap and the 24 September post, the other two that give the launch hour, both say PST, which is the label that matches the date.
What Forever is
Blizzard calls it a permanent home that sits alongside modern World of Warcraft and WoW Classic (the re-released original game). It says Forever is neither a mode, nor a season, nor another version of Classic. The story sits after Warcraft III Reforged: Forsaken Kingdom and before Molten Core. Players go back to the original continents, Eastern Kingdoms and Kalimdor, and level to 60.
The design rules are blunt about what is missing: no flying mounts and no level scaling (monsters quietly adjusting to your level). Blizzard's four stated pillars are being approachable and familiar, treating the world as the main character, putting the journey before the destination, and protecting the social side of the game.
Watch the panel yourself
Blizzard's panel recap embeds the BlizzCon replay (BlizzCon is Blizzard's own convention), and the recording below is that same one: "World of Warcraft: Forever - What's Next Panel | BlizzCon 2026", published on the World of Warcraft YouTube channel.
What is in it
More than a thousand new quests are woven through the level 1 to 60 journey, and Blizzard names four places to go.
Hyjal deals with the aftermath of Archimonde's defeat. Shen'dralas is a hidden mystery between Mulgore and Desolace. The Riverglades is a frontier of rivers and trade routes with more than 150 quests, across much of what Blizzard calls the mid-30s to mid-40s experience. Zephras Isle (a starting area in the sky) covers levels 1 to 12.
For a look at the levels past 30, here is a video from the World of Warcraft YouTube channel, Blizzard's own.
Zephras Isle is home to the Skyborne, a new playable race. You pick a Skyborne character's side when you make it, and the side decides one class: Horde Skyborne get the Shaman, which Blizzard ties to elemental traditions, and Alliance Skyborne get the Mage, tied to an arcane legacy. Both sides can also play Warriors, Hunters, Rogues and Druids.
There are nine new dungeons: the Hall of Thanes beneath Ironforge, the Ruins of Lordaeron, an excavation site, the City of Dalaran, Blackmaw Hold, the Drowned City, Krol'dok Stronghold, Alcaz Prison and the Shaper's Terrace. Our dungeons piece has where each one is and its levels.
The panel named two raids (the Barrow Deeps, planned as a challenge for ten players at the level cap, and Hyjal Summit, built for twenty). Across the two, Blizzard names new tier sets and a legendary reward it has not detailed. Blizzard's 20 October raid overview adds a third, Onyxia's Lair, for 40 players, and says all three unlock on 9 December. Our raids piece has where each one is and the steps to get into Onyxia's Lair.
For player versus player fights there is a new 15 versus 15 Battleground (on the Darkspear Islands), and Blizzard says updates to that side of the game carry on after launch.
Blizzard names two new systems. It pitches Legacy progression at players who love levelling alternate characters; our Legacy System piece covers how it works for a player with just one. Camping, which is new, lets you build a campfire out in the world so other players can stop by, help through their professions and share campsite buffs. Transmog is opt-in. There are also modern and Classic visual presets, high and standard definition character models, and controller support.
What it means for your wallet
Blizzard names three optional digital packs (our reading: Heroic in the first name is a product label, not a difficulty) plus a physical Collector's Edition.
| Edition | What it adds |
|---|---|
| Skyborne Heroic Pack | The Skyborne race and the Zephras Isle start, Early Name Reservation, the Cerulean Prideclaw ground mount, cosmetics, housing decor, one Invite-A-Friend Launch Code |
| Skyborne Epic Pack | Everything above, plus beta access (17 September to 21 October), 30 days of Game Time from 4 November, more cosmetics, pets, tabards, and three Invite-A-Friend Launch Codes in total |
| Warcraft Forever Collection, limited time | Everything above, plus Warcraft III: Reforged, its Forsaken Kingdom campaign, and Forsaken and Human figurine decor for housing in modern World of Warcraft |
| Collector's Edition | A physical box from the Blizzard Gear Store and some retailers: a Warcraft Forever Collection code, a 13-inch Dwarf and Bear statue, a Zephras Isle mousepad, art prints, pins and a journal |
Each digital pack starts with everything in the one above it. Blizzard's 24 September post adds that orders from its Collector's Edition restock are expected to ship in February 2027, after launch, with a limit of one per household on its store. No Blizzard post we read gives a price for any of them, that one included.
Our reading of that table, in three parts. First, the good news, and it is genuinely good: anyone already paying to play owes nothing extra on 4 November. Nothing Blizzard lists in those packs is described as a stat, damage or gear boost, and that is worth saying out loud.
Second, that is still not the same as saying the packs are all paint. The base pack carries a playable race, and Blizzard's panel recap says the Skyborne come with class access that depends on the side you pick, plus racial abilities of their own. Whether those abilities are any stronger than another race's is a thing none of the posts we read says, so we are not saying it either. What we will say is that a playable race reaches into how a character plays, and calling these packs cosmetic would be wrong.
Third, the Cerulean Prideclaw. It comes with the base pack, and Blizzard's own line says "players will need to purchase the riding skill in-game to access and use this mount". So it is a mount you paid real money for, with a second purchase inside the game between you and riding it. A small thing, and the kind of small thing that reads badly on launch day.
And the question we used to ask, now answered. The beta included the Skyborne and Zephras Isle. Blizzard's 29 October guide for returning players says it plainly: "access to the Skyborne race and starting experience requires the Skyborne Heroic Pack or higher." So on 4 November the new race is behind a purchase. Our reading: that's a paid gate on a way to play, not a skin, and we'd rather say so than call the packs cosmetic. Credit where it's due, though: Blizzard says it plainly.
Getting in on 4 November
Blizzard's 29 October guide for returning players gives the steps, in this order.
- Install the Battle.net app, Blizzard's launcher for Windows or Mac, and log in.
- Pick WoW: Forever, then pick it again under the Game Version menu. If you have more than one World of Warcraft account, a second menu asks which one to play on.
- Click Install, then Play once it's done.
Your first login asks for an Experience Preset, Classic or Enhanced, before you pick a ruleset. Our Experience Preset piece puts the two side by side. Blizzard's advice is to agree on a ruleset and a side with your friends and guild first, so you can group and raid together. If you can't sign in, the guide points you to Blizzard Support's "Can't Log In?" account recovery page.
What comes after launch
New raids arrive on 9 December. Past that Blizzard lists more raids and dungeons, player versus player updates, more world content, more quests through the 1 to 60 journey, and a revamped iconic raid (Blizzard does not say which). None of those has a date.
It also lists Hardcore. Forever moves away from picking a realm: each character picks a ruleset instead, which is the kind of world it lives in, and Hardcore is the one where death carries lasting consequences. Blizzard's ruleset post says Hardcore arrives sometime after launch, and that a Hardcore character who dies can move to another ruleset, player versus player included. Our rulesets piece covers every ruleset, including the Roleplay-PvP one Blizzard announced on 22 October for launch.
The beta, the invite codes, the launch and the December raids are on our calendar. For what the game's files hold, see our talent calculator and hunter pet reference. Blizzard's own change lists are on our patch notes page.
Common questions
When does World of Warcraft: Forever come out?
4 November 2026 at 3:00 p.m. Pacific, and Blizzard says the launch is global. Blizzard's announcement wrote that hour as PDT once and PST once; the panel recap and the 24 September post both say PST. Our maths: clocks on the US west coast go back on 1 November, so 3:00 p.m. PST on 4 November is 23:00 UTC, 6:00 p.m. in New York, and midnight going into 5 November in Paris. The beta, the test version before launch, closed on 23 October, and Blizzard said it would open character creation on 27 October.
Do I have to buy World of Warcraft: Forever?
No. Blizzard says it's included with a World of Warcraft subscription or with Game Time, which is subscription time paid for up front. The three upgrade packs are optional. They add things like the Skyborne race and its Zephras Isle starting area, cosmetics, housing decor, pets, early name reservation, friend invite codes and a mount that Blizzard says still needs a riding skill bought in the game. The middle pack adds 30 days of Game Time and gave beta access from 17 September to 21 October, and the largest adds Warcraft III: Reforged and its Forsaken Kingdom campaign. The physical Collector's Edition includes a code for that largest pack. No Blizzard post we read gives a price. Blizzard's 29 October guide for returning players settles one thing: playing a Skyborne, and their starting area, needs the Skyborne Heroic Pack or higher.
What is World of Warcraft: Forever, and how is it different from WoW Classic?
Blizzard calls it a new permanent home that sits alongside modern World of Warcraft and WoW Classic, which is the re-released original game. Players return to the original continents, Eastern Kingdoms and Kalimdor, and level from 1 to 60. The difference Blizzard draws is that this one is meant to grow: it says Forever is neither a mode, nor a season, nor another version of Classic, and that it will keep getting new stories, dungeons, raids and updates over time.
Written by 0hp from the publisher's own announcement, linked above, and every specific in it was checked against that page by a second pass before it published. Independent, and not affiliated with the publisher. Dates are announced or labelled as estimates. How this site is written, and how to correct it.
