Blizzard announced World of Warcraft: Forever on September 12, with a global release scheduled for November 4, 2026, at 3:00 p.m. PST and a September 17 beta start. The pitch is a permanent game built around original Azeroth and the journey to level 60, running alongside modern and Classic WoW rather than as a season. The dates and positioning come from Blizzard’s launch announcement.
Blizzard places Forever after the events of Warcraft III Reforged: Forsaken Kingdom and before Molten Core, framing it as a return to the original continents with new stories and continued updates.
For Classic players, the bigger news is not another trip through the same raid order. Forever has new regions, dungeons, raids and class updates, while keeping the Eastern Kingdoms and Kalimdor at the center of the game.
New regions and the Skyborne
Blizzard has named four new regions for Forever: Mount Hyjal, Shen'dralas, Riverglades and Zephras Isle. Zephras Isle is also the starting area for the new playable Skyborne race.
The Skyborne call themselves the Shen’dorei. Blizzard’s Skyborne lore video describes them as high elves exiled from Eldre’Thalas nearly 10,000 years ago who fled across an uncharted ocean to Zephras Isle. With pursuers closing in, the Spirit of the Four Winds lifted their mountain refuge into Skywall, where the Shen’dorei remained secluded under the protection of elemental magic and Wind Spirits.
That sanctuary is now in danger: Blizzard says the Wind Spirits have vanished, destabilizing the magic that keeps Skywall safe. The race’s starting story centers on a new generation of Skyborne looking beyond Zephras Isle and deciding how their people should respond.
Two competing philosophies shape that decision. The Windshapers seek to restore the Skyborne’s relationship with the spirits and return balance to Skywall, while the High Order wants to master Skywall’s magic and put it under Skyborne control rather than depend on the spirits.
Skyborne characters choose Horde or Alliance at character creation rather than joining a neutral faction. Both factions can play Skyborne warriors, hunters, rogues and druids. Horde Skyborne also have shaman access, while Alliance Skyborne can be mages.
Blizzard has since confirmed that Zephras Isle is a level 1–12 starting experience. Windshaper Skyborne are Horde-aligned and can be druids, hunters, rogues, shamans or warriors, while Alliance-aligned High Order Skyborne can be druids, hunters, mages, rogues or warriors.
Faction selection affects more than class access. Blizzard says it changes the specific Skyborne quests and stories a character experiences, as well as the traditions they follow and the magic they pursue. Horde Skyborne deepen their ties to spirits, nature and the elements; Alliance Skyborne pursue the arcane. A Horde Skyborne cannot become a mage, and an Alliance Skyborne cannot become a shaman.
The two factions share several racial abilities: Walk on Air, which lets the character glide downward for 10 seconds; Wind Blessed, a passive 1% increase to melee, ranged and spellcasting Haste; and Elemental Insight, which increases damage to Elementals by 5%. Windshapers also have Skysight, granting an Elemental Blessing that raises run speed by 10%, while the High Order’s Read Ley Line provides 100% increased Health and Mana regeneration when activated.
Skyborne druids will receive race-specific forms. Blizzard also says the race has new customization choices, voices, dances and other visual options. Those customization options include unique tattoos, feathers woven into hairstyles, and exclusive hair colors and styles.
The Skyborne’s racial mount is the Galestrider, a crane Blizzard describes as fitting the race’s connection to the air. Their larger Skycutters are airborne vessels among the Shen’dorei’s greatest creations, carrying them between planes and eventually bringing the new generation of Skyborne to Azeroth.
In an interview, Forever designers said Skyborne players can leave Zephras Isle before level 12, although the zone’s story and quests continue to about that level. That gives players the option to move into the wider world early without necessarily finishing the starting-area storyline.
Blizzard also announced six additional race-and-class combinations: Gnome Priest, Human Hunter, Dwarf Shaman, Orc Mage, Troll Warlock and Undead Paladin.
Forsaken Paladin class quests will connect to the Warcraft III: Forsaken Kingdom storyline, with the new order beginning to establish itself in Tearsfall Glades. Blizzard says Forsaken Paladins receive a mount at level 40; completing the epic mount quest line at level 60 unlocks an upgraded Forsaken charger.
The panel also announced nine new dungeons, two new raids and Onyxia's Lair, as well as the Darkspear Islands, a 15-versus-15 battleground. Blizzard described Darkspear Islands as using control-point gameplay, with Arathi Basin-style flag captures that must be defended. Hardcore support is also planned for Forever, though the panel did not provide its full ruleset.
Dalaran and Drown City dungeon details
A BlizzCon creator showcase offered a closer look at two of Forever’s dungeons. Dalaran City is entered through the city’s sewers, with players fighting through undead and other threats before reaching the city proper. Developers said the dungeon will lean on resistances, immunities and crowd-control challenges more heavily than players may expect: arcane enemies can be immune to arcane damage, while fire elementals can be immune to fire damage. That makes party composition and damage types a practical consideration rather than a purely theoretical one.
The showcase also detailed Drown City, a new level 35–40 leveling dungeon off Stranglethorn’s western coast. Developers described it as a troll-focused city raised from the ocean floor and as an expansion of the unfinished story around the Vile Reef. The dungeon draws on the tale of the sunken city of Ili and its witch doctor, Minloth.
Skyborne players also have an exclusive Dalaran area overlooking Lord Lake near the Violet Citadel. The showcase said it is reached by skyship from Zephras.
Dungeon runs are meant to reward quests, not repetition
Forever’s overall experience curve remains unchanged, according to the developer interview, but dungeon experience is being adjusted to favor a first, quest-driven run. Experience from dungeon monster kills will be reduced, while completing dungeon quests will grant substantially more experience.
The stated goal at announcement was to reward dungeon quests while discouraging repeated grinding as the preferred leveling route. October 8 update: dungeon kill XP has since increased by approximately 20%, and lower-level-enemy party XP now uses each player's level rather than the highest party member's, except that vastly overleveled party members still prevent XP for everyone. October 1 halved only the bonus dungeon-quest XP above normal quest values. See the current dungeon guidance before using the announcement-era leveling advice.
Four dates for your calendar
Blizzard has scheduled a World of Warcraft: Forever Deep Dive livestream for September 13 at 10:00 a.m. PDT, with the development team set to discuss the reimagined Azeroth’s philosophy, systems and design choices.
The official upgrade details list beta from September 17 through October 21. The game launches globally on November 4 at 3:00 p.m. PST. Blizzard has said new raids will begin unlocking on December 9.
That separates testing, launch and raiding into distinct stretches. If you are gathering a guild, the launch date is not the announced new-raid opening. Hyjal Summit is described as 20-player content, while the Barrow Deeps is planned as a maximum-level 10-player challenge. Blizzard has also said Onyxia's Lair is planned as a 40-player raid, giving Forever three raid sizes.
The developers said tier pieces will be obtainable across Hyjal Summit, Barrow Deeps and Onyxia's Lair, encouraging players to participate in each raid size rather than treating one format as the sole progression route. Encounter details and a complete gearing route are not in the recap.
Molten Core is not planned for launch. In the same interview, developers said it is intended to return in a later update after Forever opens with new raid content.
A subscription gets you the base game, not every upgrade
Blizzard says launch access is included with a WoW Subscription or Game Time. The optional Skyborne Heroic Pack adds Skyborne race access, its starting experience and other extras. The Skyborne Epic Pack and Warcraft Forever Collection add beta access; the Heroic Pack does not list beta as a benefit.
That distinction matters more than the edition names. If you only want the base game on November 4, an upgrade is not required. If you want to test in September, check the beta and edition breakdown before purchasing.
Familiar rules, a different world to learn
Forever will not use traditional realm selection. Players will instead choose between Normal, PvP and Roleplaying rulesets, with Hardcore planned for after launch. Blizzard said its new Hardcore systems will be tested during beta.
Blizzard has said players will be limited to one faction on PvP rulesets, while characters of the other faction can be created on Normal and Roleplaying rulesets. That makes the PvP choice especially important for groups that want to play both factions.
Add-ons will be supported, including UI customization, but Blizzard said it intends to restrict the information and control available to them. The developers said the limits are meant to prevent add-ons from trivializing gameplay or being used in ways that negatively affect other players. Blizzard is also investing in supported in-game tools, including a damage meter and cooldown manager.
The Hardcore panel outlined safeguards and progression tailored to one-life characters. When the game needs to refresh the surrounding world, a planned warning interface will provide a countdown and allow players to confirm that they are somewhere safe before the refresh proceeds. The team said the feature is intended to prevent deaths caused by sudden nearby respawns.
Hardcore players will also have access to Forever’s expanded crafting and itemization: Blizzard cited more than 600 new crafting recipes, improved food and consumables, stronger dungeon rewards, and new items from elite enemies and rare spawns. A character that dies in Hardcore can transfer to a Normal, PvP or Roleplaying ruleset.
Hardcore progression will remain separate from progression earned elsewhere. Collections and Legacy Points earned outside Hardcore will not transfer into it, while collections and Legacy Points earned in Hardcore can move with a character transferred out after death. Blizzard also plans Hardcore-specific Legacy challenges and perks, so runs that end before level 60 can still contribute toward future attempts.
Blizzard describes each ruleset as a separate mega-realm: characters can only group for dungeons and raids with players on the same ruleset, and Horde and Alliance remain separate. That makes a ruleset choice important for friends planning to level and raid together.
The panel recap commits to no flying mounts and no level scaling. Blizzard also says Forever is not being planned around future level-cap increases that would invalidate existing accomplishments.
Camping will allow players to create campsites in much of the open world. Other players can use professions at a campsite to grant a buff to everyone there. The Legacy system, meanwhile, is intended to unlock leveling perks across alternate characters as players complete goals during new leveling journeys.
Combat and itemization are also being reworked rather than copied directly from Classic. Melee, ranged and spell hit chance will be unified into one hit stat, and critical-strike chance will be unified as well. Weapon skill returns, but Blizzard says it will be reduced and rebalanced compared with Classic.
Blizzard says healing gear will also provide bonus damage, while spellcaster weapons will grant spell damage and healing from level 10. Items can have effects linked to particular environments or creature types. Every dungeon boss’s loot is being re-examined, with rare-quality upgrades alongside new or improved quest, dungeon and world-drop rewards planned.
Transmog will be opt-in: players who turn it off will see other characters' equipped appearances rather than transmogrified outfits. Blizzard announced HD and Classic model options and restored Classic animations for HD models. October 7 clarification: the initial SD toggle covers original races; SD Skyborne characters and Druid forms arrive in early 2027.
This is not a complete class or systems reference yet, but it is enough to see why an old Classic guide will not answer every Forever question. The practical next step is to choose whether you want beta access and which friends are interested, not to lock in a BiS list or a best-spec claim. Blizzard has also opened a WoW: Forever Community Connections forum for players to post about their communities, find new friends and reconnect with former guildmates. Our Forever overview collects the current basics; changes from Classic Era and the raid overview separate announced features from the details still needed to plan around them.