World of Warcraft: Forever Beta — Dates, Access & Install Steps

The Forever beta is live, running September 17–October 21, 2026. Access is included with the Skyborne Epic Pack and the Warcraft Forever Collection; the physical Collector's Edition includes it too, through an emailed code. Digital upgrade access is flagged automatically; Collector's Edition owners need to redeem their emailed code. Once your account has access, the client appears in the Battle.net app.

Blizzard says additional English Collector’s Edition stock is available in North America, the United Kingdom, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand, though retailer timing varies. Orders from that restock are expected to ship and arrive in February 2027, after Forever launches on November 4, 2026. The Blizzard Gear Store limits Collector’s Edition purchases to one copy per household.

One date conflict to know about: Blizzard's access terms end the beta on October 21, while the official roadmap graphic prints October 22. Blizzard's beta-live announcement describes October 21 as the last full day of testing, so plan around the earlier date.

Beta schedule

Blizzard's support article notes the beta client can be taken offline at any time during testing. It points to the World of Warcraft: Forever forum instead of separate beta forums; Blizzard's known-issues thread includes the October 8 additions.

Check the October 1 development notes, October 8 development notes and known-issues thread before treating an unexpected mechanic as intended behavior.

An earlier WoW Forever 1.60.1 Build 69977 client update addressed some Mac display and stability problems, improved character-selection controller navigation when the game launches with an active gamepad, and let gamepad users interact with items that give quests.

Blizzard has now deployed that September 24 beta build. Among its fixes, crafting an item or casting a spell no longer makes a player stand while waiting for a Campfire buff, and players can buff each other, cast, and craft while waiting for those buffs. The update also fixes caster precast animations, changes the sound played when jumping in water, and adjusts Human death sounds.

The October 8 build expands the Cooldown Manager to all classes, racial abilities and trinkets. Consumable support is planned for a later patch. Blizzard's October 8 known-issues additions flag missing future texture updates for Skyborne Cat Form and other creatures, a visual-only Ferocity pet-crit character-sheet bug, and broken icons in the Professions window. Those additions are not a declaration that every older issue is fixed.

Several previously reported problems have specific fixes in the development notes: October 1 corrects Warrior Dual Wield Specialization applying hit to both weapons, and October 8 corrects Retribution Aura using the target's spell power and restores threat from Demoralizing Shout and Demoralizing Roar. Do not assume that the latter also confirms a Faerie Fire fix. The October 1 notes still list Eureka coverage and installation size among known issues; the October 8 additions do not explicitly resolve them.

Who gets in

Blizzard's beta access support article lists two routes:

• Guaranteed: own the Skyborne Epic Pack, Warcraft Forever Collection, or the physical Collector's Edition.
• Opt-in: sign up on the official Forever page for a chance at access. Signing up doesn't guarantee a spot, and Customer Support can't grant access to anyone.

Blizzard says opt-in invitations are sent regularly during the test. You do not need game time to play the beta once you have access.

Installing the beta

1. Log in to the Battle.net app on the account that owns the upgrade.
2. Select World of Warcraft from the game list.
3. In the Game Version menu above the Play button, choose World of Warcraft: Forever Beta under In Development, then install it.
4. Once installed, select an available test realm, create a test character when available, and enter the game.
5. If the option isn't there, close and reopen the app and confirm you're logged in to the right account.

Keep these in mind:

• Digital purchases get no key in your email. The account flag is automatic, though Blizzard says access can take up to 30 minutes to appear and may require a launcher restart.
• Collector's Edition codes come by email and behave differently: they need a WoW game account, allow one redemption per account, and can't be redeemed where beta access already exists.
• Budget the disk space. Official system requirements list 128 GB of free space on an SSD. You also need a Battle.net account, the desktop app, and a broadband connection.
• Check the GPU architecture as well as disk space. Blizzard's September 17 GPU notice requires AMD GCN 1, NVIDIA Maxwell, Intel Skylake or newer for Forever. That is a compatibility floor, not the game's minimum performance specification; even some supported older cards fall below the full minimum requirements.
• If a gifted upgrade is missing access, ask the buyer to check the order. The support article directs gift recipients back to the friend who sent it.

What's in the test

Testing opened with a level-20 cap, and the October 1 beta build raised the active cap to level 30. That build also opens Excavation Site: Wetlands for levels 26–31, while Razorfen Downs is available at level 25 and Uldaman at level 30.

The build makes several class adjustments relevant to players reaching the new cap:

• Druids: Feral gains Shifting Power and Improved Shifting Power, while Tiger’s Fury and King of the Jungle are removed. All shapeshift forms are now immune to Disarm effects, although a Disarm applied before shifting remains in effect.
• Hunters: Survival's Deflection now grants 1/2/3/4/5% Parry, reduced from 2/4/6/8/10%.
• Paladins: Protection Redoubt now grants 4/8/12/16/20% Block; Holy Shield grants 30% Block. Retribution's Champion of the Light now converts 20/40/60% of Intellect to spell damage.
• Warriors: Fury gains Lingering Rage, Furious Precision and Gore Drinker, alongside broader Fury-tree revisions. Protection talent positions have also changed, including Iron Will moving to the first row and Improved Bloodrage moving to the first row.

For the first week, Blizzard lists:

• The new Skyborne race and Zephras Isle
• Hall of Thanes, a level 13–18 dungeon
• Ruins of Lordaeron, a level 15–20 dungeon
• Zone content through level 20

City of Dalaran opened for testing on October 8. Dungeon creature-kill XP increased by approximately 20%, and the party XP calculation once again uses each player's own level when adjusting XP for lower-level enemies. The anti-boosting exception remains: if someone in the party vastly outlevels the enemy, nobody receives XP. The October 1 reduction halved only the extra XP from dungeon quests above normal quest values, not all dungeon quest XP.

October 8 also granted all beta players completion of the Legacy Challenge for 16 Legacy Points to test the system. This is a beta grant, not the launch earning rules. Legacy respecialization has a beta-only minimum cost of 1 silver, with the cost reducing by one respecialization per hour.

Further content can open during testing. Blizzard also plans a limited-time Server Slam, opening the beta to anyone for several hours, but has not announced its timing.

The class guides and talent calculators show the full level-60 trees, not just talents reachable under the beta cap. Level 60 and endgame raiding are not part of the announced beta.

Don't treat beta progress as launch progress. No carryover plan has been published, and the interview says everyone starts at level 1 at launch.

Beta timing and content can still change before November 4, and the roadmap footer says so; the beta launch announcement treats October 21 as the last full day of testing.

Which edition includes beta

The upgrade is optional; check the Battle.net Shop for regional pricing.

Invite-A-Friend codes

• Heroic includes 1 code; Epic and the Collection include 3. Upgrading from Heroic to Epic or Heroic to the Collection adds the difference; Epic to Collection adds none.
• For Battle.net digital purchases, codes are emailed to your registered address starting October 20, one email per code. Buying after that date sends them shortly afterward. Gear Store CE codes arrive separately at the purchase email address.
• Each code gives one WoW account free access from November 4 through November 11. It can't be redeemed on an account that already owns an upgrade, doesn't include the Skyborne race or its starting zone, isn't game time, and can't be replaced if lost or redeemed on the wrong account.
• Gift purchases don't include codes. The Gear Store CE adds three codes to those from a qualifying digital purchase—six if the digital edition already supplied three. Retail CEs in Korea, Australia and New Zealand are not eligible for these codes.

Early Name Reservation

October 27 through November 3 is for creating and customizing up to three characters, included with any upgrade purchase. Names are first-come, first-served and can't be guaranteed. It doesn't include early leveling.

Where beta access goes wrong

When your group starts planning for launch, servers and rulesets covers the decisions that lock a guild in.