A permanent new version of the game, set in Azeroth's first year — level 1 to 60, on foot, with a world that finally gets to grow sideways. Launching November 4, 2026.
Launching Nov 4, 2026 · 3:00 p.m. PacificBeta in progress — ends Oct 21
World of Warcraft: Forever is Blizzard's third, permanent version of the game — built to live alongside modern World of Warcraft and World of Warcraft Classic, not to replace either. The developers are blunt about it: “This is not a mode, a season, or a new version of Classic. It is a promise to keep building this world.”[2]
It returns to original Azeroth — the Eastern Kingdoms and Kalimdor of the game's first year — set after Warcraft III Reforged: Forsaken Kingdom and before Molten Core. It exists in its own “time bubble”: a separate continuity from modern WoW, where the Dark Portal has never been reopened.[1][7]
The cap is 60, and the whole way is on foot — the mount stays a trainer purchase, the way it was in the Burning Crusade. The design intent: Azeroth stops growing taller and starts growing wider, with new zones and 1,000+ new quests spread across the entire 1–60 journey.[2][3]
You asked for this. Forever grew out of years of player asking — the long-rumored “Classic+” — and out of what Blizzard learned from Classic and Season of Discovery.[2][21] It was officially unveiled at BlizzCon on September 12, 2026, guided by four design pillars: approachable and familiar; the world as the main character; the journey before the destination; and protecting the social experiences that make Azeroth feel alive.[2]
Picking a side? Both factions have dedicated starting guides: the Horde guide — refreshed starting zones, the new Orc Mage, Troll Warlock and Forsaken Paladin, the Darkspear Islands, and the 1–60 road — and the Alliance guide — their starting zones, the new Gnome Priest and Dwarf Shaman, and the road across the map.
Dec 9New raids unlock[2]Reported may include a revamped Onyxia's Lair[24]
Winter 2026Hardcore ruleset (post-launch; “winter” per reports)[3][24]
2027Spring: +2 raids, +2 dungeons · Summer: major update Reported[24]
04 · The world
Where you'll play
Forever's design philosophy is called “found photos” — a term Chris Metzen first coined in Season of Discovery story conversations: moments, places, and mysteries that feel as though they could have existed in Classic Azeroth all along. The team favors local mysteries, grounded conflicts, and long-neglected characters over sweeping new campaigns.[7]
Mount Hyjal
The two-decade wait, answered. The mountain is recovering after Archimonde's defeat — Darkwhisper Gorge, emerging factions, new alliances, and the road up to Hyjal Summit, one of the game's two new raids.[2][7]
Zephras Isle
The Skyborne homeland — levels 1–12 on an elemental island with architecture inspired by Skywall. The island is in crisis: its holding pylons are failing, and three factions are vying for control.[2][7]
Riverglades
A new Eastern Kingdoms frontier built from a part of the Classic world you could never reach. Roughly Stranglethorn-sized, it holds 150+ new quests in the mid-30s to mid-40s — with a ship route straight in from Tanaris.[2][7]
Shen'dralas Expanded, not new
The long-hidden region between Mulgore and Desolace finally opens. Shen'dralar, Eldre'Thalas, Dire Maul, and the centaur threads that teased the map for decades — all back on the map.[2][7]
1,000+ new quests across the entire 1–60 journey — on top of reimagined corners: new NPCs and quest hooks in the starting zones, fresh content in the Wetlands and Desolace, and a rendering pass that puts rivers in Elwynn Forest, mist over Darkshore, and moonlight in Ashenvale.[2][7]
New travel, at last: ships. Stormwind ↔ Auberdine opens an early route between the continents; Menethil and Southshore ↔ Auberdine add a flexible leveling crossing; and the Steamwheedle Cartel (Tanaris) sails you to Riverglades' new port, Powderfuse Port.[7]
05 · The new race
The Skyborne
The Skyborne — the shen'dorei, the “hidden people” — are elves of ancient Highborne descent who fled Eldre'Thalas after the War of the Ancients and found refuge in the Skywall, where wind spirits anchored their island home. They are the first new playable race built exclusively for Forever.[2][7]
Like the Pandaren, the Skyborne are neutral at character creation — you choose Horde or Alliance when you make them. Horde Skyborne embrace elemental traditions and unlock Shaman; Alliance Skyborne pursue the arcane legacy of their ancestors and unlock Mage.[2]
Skyborne class availability by faction
Class
Horde
Alliance
Warrior
✓
✓
Hunter
✓
✓
Rogue
✓
✓
Druid— new Skyborne forms
✓
✓
Mage— arcane legacy
—
✓
Shaman— elemental traditions
✓
—
New racials, voices, dances, and customizations round out the race.[2] And everyone gets more to play: six new race–class combinations land for existing races — Gnome Priest, Human Hunter, Dwarf Shaman, Orc Mage, Troll Warlock, and Forsaken Paladin — with more planned. Racial abilities are being reworked too: every race gets two active and two passive abilities, tuned for similar power with signature utility preserved.[2]
Heads-up: playing a Skyborne requires the Skyborne Heroic Pack ($29.99 US) or higher — it's the one race you have to buy. Full breakdown in Pricing.[4]
Press describes it as a Night Elf cavern-prison beneath Kalimdor holding an imprisoned Demon Hunter.[2][26]
Hyjal Summit 20-player
Max-level encounters at one of Warcraft's most important locations — the site of the Battle for Mount Hyjal.[2][7]
Both unlock December 9, 2026 — five weeks after launch — alongside new tier sets and a legendary reward Blizzard says it's “looking forward to revealing in full.” Reported the Dec 9 wave may also include a revamped Onyxia's Lair.[2][24]
PvP
The Darkspear Islands are a new 15v15 battleground (levels 30–60) off the coast of Dustwallow Marsh. Four capture points plus a central flag — first team to 2,000 points wins. You queue through battlemasters in any major capital or the Barrens and earn reputation with the Darkspear Raiders (Horde) or the Theramore Expeditionary Force (Alliance): gear, quests, and an Exalted tabard.[10] PvP progression gets a refresh too: Honor and Rank Points, the original rank titles all the way up to High Warlord and Grand Marshal, a weekly rank cap, and seasonal weekly tasks that also grant Legacy Points.[11] The PvP ruleset adds Season of Discovery–style faction balancing.[3]
ReportedHow groups form: there's no LFG queue. The BlizzCon demo showed a Classic-style board that lists people looking to group. Find people, form the group, walk to the door. The developers say the friction is deliberate: it's what makes meeting people happen.[25][15]
07 · Systems
How it plays differently
A realmless world, four rulesets
The server list is history. You pick a ruleset instead: Normal (PvP requires mutual consent), PvP, Roleplay, and Hardcore (post-launch). Each ruleset is its own large ecosystem — there's no cross-ruleset grouping, and Horde and Alliance stay separate. Hardcore is fully enclosed, but a dead Hardcore character can transfer to any other ruleset, including PvP.[3]
Characters use two-part names (first name + surname), unique per region, and you can set a language preference.[3]
The Legacy System — alts are the point
Completing Legacy Challenges (leveling a new class, hitting a skill milestone) earns Legacy Points, shared across your account. Each character spends its own points in three trees: Professions, Adventure, and Resourcefulness — think rested-XP boosts, better harvesting, and reagent removal.[3]
At launch you can spend 16 points per character and earn up to 65. Overflow flows into a cosmetic Legacy Reward track (e.g., the Spectral Bear Cub) with no competitive edge. Even PvP's seasonal tasks grant Legacy Points.[3][11]
Camping, rebuilt
The trusty campfire is back, upgraded. Craft a Basic Campfire to create a campsite — vendors, repairs, profession stations, and one-hour buffs — then sit by the fire until you're rested. Nearby players each add a crafted object (Sharpening Wheel, Faction Banner, Incense Candle…) for shared buffs.[3]
First camp objects unlock at profession skill 20; advanced ones drop as blueprints from dungeon bosses. There are 600+ new profession recipes, and overhauled cooking and fishing with stat-boosting, XP-granting food.[3]
Look the way you want
Transmog is opt-in. Toggle it off and your client shows other players in their equipped gear — the original experience. Picking Classic Mode disables it automatically. Choose Modern or Classic visual presets, HD or SD character models, and restored Classic animations on HD models.[3]
Official gamepad support ships at launch — with class-specific flyouts — alongside a new opt-in Cooldown Manager interface.[3][9]
Mounts, items, combat
The mount cost moves to the riding trainer (Burning Crusade–style): you get the mount when you learn to ride. Itemization keeps Classic's stats but reworks them — hit and crit are unified across weapon types, boss uniques turn blue, and trinkets gain situational, environment- and creature-tuned effects.[3]
Combat keeps Classic's pace: a solo mob takes 10–15 seconds to kill, and crowd control and threat still matter.[3]
08 · Pricing
How to get in
The base game costs nothing extra. World of Warcraft: Forever is included with any World of Warcraft Subscription or Game Time — every race except the Skyborne, and all zones, dungeons, and raids.[1][4]
Optional upgrade packs add the Skyborne, name reservation, and launch-week extras. US prices from the Battle.net Shop, September 2026 — re-verify before launch.[22]
Edition comparison — US prices, September 2026
What's included
Heroic $29.99
Epic $59.99
Collection $79.99
Skyborne race + Zephras Isle start
✓Included
✓Included
✓Included
Early Name Reservation (Oct 27 – Nov 3, up to 3 characters)
WC3: Reforged + Forsaken Kingdom (limited-time, ends Jan 11, 2027)
—Not included
—Not included
✓Included
Invite-A-Friend launch codes
1
3
3
The Heroic Pack is the one Skyborne option without beta access — and the beta still runs through October 21, so Epic and Collection buyers can play the final stretch before launch.[4]
Invite codes let a friend play Nov 4–11 with no subscription. Codes are emailed to purchasers starting October 20; gift purchases don't qualify, and codes don't include beta access.[4]
Physical Collector's Edition (Blizzard Gear Store): $115 US as of Oct 10, 2026 — the Warcraft Forever Collection digital code, a 13-inch Dwarf & Bear statue, Zephras mousepad, prints, pins, and a journal. Restocked Sep 24; ships February 2027; one per household.[5][22]
Which should you pick?
Just the game: your existing WoW Subscription. You get everything except the Skyborne and the pack extras.
The Skyborne: Heroic ($29.99) — the race, the Zephras Isle start, name reservation, and the Prideclaw mount (you still buy the riding skill in-game).
The full package: Epic ($59.99) — adds the final beta weeks, 30 days of Game Time, pets and tabards, and three invite codes.
Packs apply to the specific WoW account you purchase them on. Some cosmetics and housing decor go to your modern World of Warcraft account — none to Classic.[4] The Warcraft Forever Collection is a limited-time bundle ending January 11, 2027.[4]
09 · Roadmap
The journey ahead
Dec 9, 2026New raids unlock — Barrow Deeps & Hyjal Summit, new tier sets. Reported may include a revamped Onyxia's Lair.[2][24]
Post-launchMore raids, dungeons, PvP updates, world content, and additional 1–60 quests.[2]
“This is not a mode, a season, or a new version of Classic. It is a promise to keep building this world with the community, guided by your feedback, and made to last.”
— World of Warcraft: Forever team, What's Next panel[2]
10 · FAQ
Questions, answered
Is this “Classic+”?
In spirit, yes — it grew directly out of the years of Classic+ asking and out of Season of Discovery. Officially, though, it's its own thing: a third permanent version of World of Warcraft, “not a mode, a season, or a new version of Classic.”[2]
Do I need to buy anything new?
No. The base game is included with any World of Warcraft Subscription or Game Time, with all races except the Skyborne and all content. The only paid path is an upgrade pack — and the cheapest one (Heroic, $29.99 US) is only needed if you want to play a Skyborne.[1][4]
Why is the Skyborne behind a pack?
It's the first paywalled new race outside an expansion, and press noted the sticker shock (“hype dampened by $30 elves” — PC Gamer). The cheapest path in is the Heroic Pack at $29.99 US; every other race is free with your subscription.[4][18]
Can I fly? Do levels scale?
No and no — both by design. No flying mounts and no level scaling; the 1–60 journey is the experience, and the world grows horizontally (new zones and quests) instead of vertically.[2]
Do I pick a server?
No. Forever is realmless: you pick a ruleset — Normal, PvP, Roleplay, or (post-launch) Hardcore. Each is its own large world with its own player pool and rules, and you can't group across rulesets.[3]
Will my Classic or Modern characters carry over?
No. Forever is its own continuity and its own characters — you start fresh. Pack benefits like housing decor flow into modern WoW accounts where applicable, but there's no character migration between versions, and the Skyborne race stays Forever-exclusive for now.[4]
Is this Blizzard's plan instead of a WoW 2?
Per the developers' stated direction, yes: a direct sequel in the style of Guild Wars 2 is “unlikely” — “why would you throw that away and start over?” — and Forever is framed as a permanent, open-ended pillar alongside Modern and Classic. Modern WoW (currently the Midnight expansion) continues to receive its own content.[16][17][27]
What happens when I die on Hardcore?
Death is permanent — that's the ruleset. But a dead Hardcore character isn't a lost account: it can transfer to another ruleset, including PvP, carrying its accomplishments out (progress never flows into Hardcore). Hardcore is officially post-launch; reports point to winter 2026. Note that Inven reports GDKP runs are banned in Forever.[3][24][23]
What's actually in the beta right now?
As of the October 1 build: level cap 30; starting zones and low-level content (Elwynn, Durotar, Teldrassil, Undercity, Dun Morogh, Mulgore, Westfall, Silverpine); Zephras Isle; the Dalaran dungeon; and the Darkspear Islands battleground. The campfire system, gamepad UI, and the opt-in Cooldown Manager are live in the build, and class tuning is ongoing in weekly dev notes. An open “Server Slam” window for all players was announced for later in the test.[8][9][6]
What exactly happens on November 4?
The game goes live worldwide at 3:00 p.m. Pacific. In the Battle.net app, choose the “World of Warcraft: Forever” game version, install, and play on any ruleset with your existing subscription or Game Time. Epic and Collection buyers get 30 days of Game Time credited that day, and invite-code holders can bring a friend in for launch week (Nov 4–11).[1][4][6]
11 · References
Sources & verification
Last updated: October 10, 2026 — every fact on this page was checked against the sources below on this date. Gold badges mean Blizzard stated it (T1); bronze “Reported” badges mean credible press or community, not yet official (T2/T3).
Oct 11, 2026 — New home: the guide now lives at beforethecrusade.com. The name is the site's timeline in one phrase — everything it covers is set before the Burning Crusade, before the Dark Portal reopened: original Azeroth, level 1 to 60, on foot. Canonical and Open Graph links on all three pages now point at the new address, and a sitemap is in.
Oct 11, 2026 — Desktop menu fix: the eleven-item nav row overflowed its container at every desktop width, and the left-most links were cut off at the list's left edge. The row now fits the 1060px shell with room to spare (faction links shortened to “Horde” / “Alliance”, slightly smaller text and tighter gaps) — no horizontal scrollbar at any width; should the row ever outgrow the list, the overflow now extends right and scrolls instead of clipping the first items.
Oct 11, 2026 — New page: the Alliance starting guide (/alliance-guide) — the complement to the Horde guide, mirroring its structure and sourced-fact treatment: the honest Kalimdor framing, five race cards incl. the new Gnome Priest and Dwarf Shaman, a provisional level-banded 1–60 route, and the endgame across the water. Key [31] (community Alliance route) added to the reference list; nav, footer, and the "Picking a side?" note now link both faction guides. Facts on this page unchanged.
Oct 11, 2026 — Horde guide copy revision: tightened throughout for returning players who were there since vanilla (2005) and drift in and out — the hero and each section now speak to that reader ("the zones you remember, plus the ones that didn't exist in 2005") without changing any fact or citation; cross-links to the Alliance guide added.
Oct 11, 2026 — Hero art rework: the fanged war moon becomes the hourglass moon. The two fangs (and the wounds they left) are gone; an hourglass is carved into the moon's face instead — the upper bulb full of light (this is Forever, it never empties), a stream of light falling through the neck into the night-glass lower bulb, where a small dune is still gathering. The aura follows: an ivory exhale above the crown, a gold dune-glow below the base, and motes of light falling around the moon like sand. The stream and the neck grains now flow with pure CSS, so the moon moves even with JavaScript disabled; scroll and fling behavior is unchanged (the aura brightens as you scroll, the fall rushes on a fast fling), and reduced-motion still renders one static frame. The fanged version is preserved at .moon-lab/moon-v18-fanged-backup.svg.
Oct 11, 2026 — New page: the Horde starting guide (/horde-guide) — faction-specific summary of the 1–60 journey with the same sourced-fact treatment; key [29] (official dungeon-range clarification) and [30] (community Horde route) added to the reference list. Facts on this page unchanged.
Oct 10, 2026 — The faint compass rose that sat behind the hero buttons is removed; it read as clutter below the links. The copy also drops its "flying mount" wording — there are no flying mounts in Forever; the mount you earn is a riding-trainer purchase, the way it was in the Burning Crusade.
Oct 10, 2026 — Hero art pass: the compass rose is simplified to a single ring and a single four-point star; the fangs are reworked from thin darts into broad crescent blades that sink into visible bite voids — dark seams and a soft inner shadow where each blade meets the moon, roots fading into the night. The aura now responds strongly to scroll: it brightens and drifts as you scroll, the wound arcs widen, and a fast fling flares the rim and embers before settling. Still honors reduced-motion; the page is complete without JavaScript.
Oct 10, 2026 — Desktop timeline: the right-edge fade that hid later dates is gone. The rail now shows a faint gold scrollbar and a next-item peek, with a scroll-linked edge glow that fades out as you reach the end — "Nov 4, 3:00 p.m. Pacific · Global launch" is always reachable and fully readable. Mobile layout unchanged.
Oct 10, 2026 — Hero art refined: the two fangs are now slender blades lit by their own wound light — cold steel at the upper-left bite, ember iron at the lower-right — with a deeper, more sculpted moon disc.
Oct 10, 2026 — Hero aura reworked: the flat atmosphere disc is now light leaking from the two wounds — a steel-blue arc at the upper-left bite, an ember arc with rising sparks at the lower-right bite, a tight pale rim on the moon's edge. Fixed a compositing bug that fringed the old glow; text stays fully legible. Still honors reduced-motion and the page is still complete without JavaScript.
Oct 10, 2026 — Hero art updated: the crescent moon is now the "fanged war moon" — a pale moon under siege by two rival blades (cold steel, ember), with a subtle WebGL atmosphere around it that breathes and drifts with scroll. Honors reduced-motion; the page is fully styled without JavaScript.
Oct 10, 2026 — First published version. All facts verified against official sources same day, including the Oct 1 beta level-cap raise to 30, the Oct 7 Darkspear Islands and PvP progression articles, and the live Collector's Edition price ($115).