World of Warcraft: Forever

World of Warcraft: Forever is the Classic+ that Blizzard announced at BlizzCon 2026 on 12 September. It is original Azeroth, renewed and expanded, and it stays at level 60 for good. New patches add stories, dungeons, raids and systems at level 60 and along the way from 1 to 60. Forever launches on 4 November 2026 and is included in a World of Warcraft subscription.

Topic	Details
Launch	4 November 2026, 15:00 Pacific time (00:00 Belgian time on 5 November)
Beta	17 September to 21 October 2026, level cap 20 and later 30
Level cap	60, permanently
At launch	More than 1,000 new quests, 9 new dungeons, new zones and the Skyborne race
First raids	9 December 2026
Price	Included in a subscription or Game Time; optional editions from 29.99 euro

What Forever is

Blizzard revealed Forever at the end of the BlizzCon 2026 Opening Ceremony, with a new cinematic. It stars the Dwarf Hunter and his bear from the original World of Warcraft trailer. The trailer moves on to Dalaran without its dome, an Undead Paladin and the bones of Archimonde on Mount Hyjal.

Blizzard calls Forever “a world that never ends”. It sits next to modern World of Warcraft and WoW Classic. The story is set in the first year of the original game, after Warcraft III and before Molten Core. Characters level to 60 and stay there, so no expansion ever makes earlier progress worthless.

How Classic+ became Forever

Senior Game Director Ion Hazzikostas explained the history in the What’s Next panel. When WoW Classic launched, some players wanted to move on to The Burning Crusade and later expansions, and that is what happened. Others wanted to stay in the original world. The team of 2020 lacked the people to build new content for it.

The idea grew into Season of Discovery, an experiment to test how much change Classic could take. By mid 2024 the team was convinced that a permanent version could work, according to Hazzikostas. The loudest feedback from players was that they wanted a home for good instead of a temporary season.

The design rules

Lead Classic Designer Tim Jones listed what stays true to Classic:

• The spirit of the original game is the measure.
• No flying mounts and no level scaling.
• A dangerous world where preparation and teamwork matter, without difficulty for its own sake.
• Leveling matters as much as the endgame.

And what is new, according to Jones:

• New and unfinished stories at every level. Blizzard named Gilneas, Mount Hyjal, Uldum, the Emerald Dream and “what lies beyond Un’Goro”.
• Patches for every playstyle: PvE, PvP, dungeons and raids.
• No expansions that wipe out progress. The catch-up system is “play the game”.
• “Nothing is off the table, not even new classes.”

Dates

All dates come from Blizzard. Times are Pacific time, with Belgian time where it matters.

Date	What happens
12 September 2026	Blizzard announces Forever at BlizzCon. Pre-purchase opens and Warcraft III Reforged: Forsaken Kingdom is released.
17 September 2026	The beta starts for owners of the Skyborne Epic Pack, the Warcraft Forever Collection and the Collector’s Edition, and for players picked from the opt-ins. The cap is level 20 at first and rises to 30 later. Blizzard holds a live Q&A the same day, at 10:00 Pacific time, 19:00 Belgian time.
20 October 2026	Invite-A-Friend launch codes start arriving by email.
21 October 2026	The beta ends. The roadmap slide at BlizzCon showed 22 October.
27 October to 3 November	Early Name Reservation: up to 3 characters with any upgrade edition. Names are first come, first served.
4 November 2026	Launch at 15:00 Pacific time, 00:00 Belgian time on 5 November. The 30 days of Game Time from the Epic Pack and the Collection are added.
4 to 11 November 2026	Launch week: invited friends play without a subscription.
9 December 2026	The raids open: Barrow Deeps (10 players), Hyjal Summit (20) and Onyxia’s Lair (40).
11 January 2027	Last day to buy the Warcraft Forever Collection.
31 December 2027	Last day to redeem a Collector’s Edition code for a possible Battle.net Balance credit on earlier digital purchases.

The roadmap for the first year

Blizzard summed up the first year as “fast-paced production for a slow-paced game”. The content and timing can still change, and features will evolve with player feedback, according to Blizzard.

Autumn 2026

• Beta from 17 September to 21 October, first up to level 20 and later up to level 30.
• Early Name Reservation and character creation from 27 October.
• Launch on 4 November.

Winter 2026

• On 9 December the raids open: Barrow Deeps for 10 players, Hyjal Summit for 20 players and Onyxia’s Lair for 40 players.

Spring 2027

• 2 new raids, for 10 and 20 players.
• 2 new dungeons.
• New quests and a new playable area.
• A new legendary questline.
• A new PvP season.

Summer 2027

• A revamped iconic raid and a new raid.
• More world content.
• 2 new dungeons.
• A new PvP season.
• Updates to tradeskills and the Legacy system.

New content follows the order of the original game, so raid sizes are mixed from the start: Hyjal Summit for 20 players opens together with Onyxia’s Lair for 40. Which raids exactly come in 2027 has not been announced.

New and reworked zones

The adventure covers the Eastern Kingdoms and Kalimdor, with new regions, unfinished corners of the original world and more than 1,000 new quests from level 1 to 60. Blizzard showed four regions at BlizzCon.

Zephras Isle, levels 1 to 12

The starting zone of the Skyborne: a secluded island in the sky that now faces a threat to its existence. The look is classic Warcraft, with architecture inspired by Skywall. Playing there requires the Skyborne Heroic Pack or a higher edition.

The Riverglades, about levels 30 to 45

A new frontier in the Eastern Kingdoms, with rivers, grasslands, trade routes and ruined keeps. It has more than 150 new quests, new reputations and rewards. Humans, orcs, ogres and small communities with old grudges live there; Blizzard called it “not a story about saving Azeroth, a story about living there”. A neutral goblin port adds travel routes, and the zone gets its own dungeon.

Mount Hyjal, endgame leveling

What happened after the defeat of Archimonde, including Darkwhisper Gorge. Mount Hyjal has solo and group content, new reputations, quests and rewards. It holds the Hyjal Summit raid and one of the three entrances to the Barrow Deeps.

Shen’dralas, a new region

A hidden region between Mulgore and Desolace, tied to the Shen’dralar, the Night Elves who still live in Dire Maul, and to Eldre’Thalas. The story follows a war between the centaur tribes of the region and gives new reasons to visit Maraudon and Razorfen Downs.

The old world in a new light

Associate Production Director Clay Stone said the Classic art style is timeless and is not being replaced. Existing effects get better instead: flowing rivers, more natural fog, moonlight through the trees and upgraded surroundings. Blizzard showed Ashenvale, Darkshore, Dustwallow Marsh, Felwood, Mulgore and The Barrens. The original zones also get new quests and secrets.

Leveling and travel

The experience curve does not change: a character needs the same amount to reach 60 as in the original Classic, Blizzard told The Sun. What changes is where that experience comes from, because the new zones add routes that the original game did not have. The Riverglades and Shen’dralas sit in the stretch where leveling slows down, and Mount Hyjal sits close to 60.

Dungeons work differently. Experience from monsters inside a dungeon goes down and experience from the dungeon quests goes up sharply. A first run through a dungeon pays off, a repeat run much less. Blizzard wants players out in the world instead of grinding the same dungeon.

There is no WoW Token and no boost, said Associate Production Director Clay Stone in an interview with Destin. The catch-up system stays “play the game”.

Three new ship routes connect parts of the world that had no link before:

• Stormwind Harbor to Auberdine, which ties the Alliance starting areas together.
• Menethil to Southshore and on to Auberdine, in three stops.
• The Riverglades to Steamwheedle Port, which opens the south of both continents and connects to Gadgetzan.

Dungeons and raids

Lead Software Engineer Nora Mills presented nine new dungeons and two new raids for launch.

The level ranges come from Blizzard, which published the full list on 14 September 2026 to correct the range of Krol’dok Stronghold. Several ranges shown at BlizzCon were wrong.

Dungeon	Levels	What it is
The Hall of Thanes	13 to 18	The Hall has been breached and the Alliance protects its old treasures, which the Horde may want for itself.
Ruins of Lordaeron	15 to 20	The ruined capital, still full of Scourge. The Horde fights to take it back, and the Alliance may find a way in too.
Excavation Site: Wetlands	24 to 29	A dig of the Explorers’ League in the Wetlands.
City of Dalaran	28 to 33	A city dungeon. The barrier from after Warcraft III is gone, but the Kirin Tor do not have the city under control.
The Drowned City	35 to 40	An old troll ruin off the coast of Stranglethorn Vale, playable on the BlizzCon show floor.
Krol’dok Stronghold	40 to 45	An orc stronghold.
Alcaz Prison	48 to 53	A prison on Alcaz Island.
Blackmaw Hold	55 to 60	A large furbolg city.
Shaper’s Terrace	58 to 60	The highest of the nine.

Barrow Deeps, 10 players

The first raid for 10 players, with three entrances across the world, one of them on Mount Hyjal. The Night Elves keep dangerous prisoners there, including “one particularly infamous character we probably aren’t prepared to deal with yet”, according to Blizzard. It opens on 9 December.

Hyjal Summit, 20 players

The power of the summit is being drained. The raid opens on 9 December, together with Onyxia’s Lair.

Onyxia’s Lair, 40 players

The original raid, which opens on 9 December together with the two new ones.

Every raid boss drops a chase item, Blizzard said in an interview with The Sun. On top of that come new legendary quests, new tier sets and hundreds of new items, many with an effect on use. Existing items are tuned to be “a little stronger, a little more unique and a little more useful”, says Blizzard.

The Skyborne

The Skyborne are a new race of elves with an elemental touch. Their floating home, Zephras Isle, faces a threat to its existence, and their shared ancestry has led to very different ideas about the future. The Skyborne are not neutral: at character creation, players choose a faction, and that choice decides the extra class.

High Order Skyborne, Alliance

• Follow the arcane legacy of their ancestors and the ideas of the Kirin Tor.
• Classes: Warrior, Hunter, Rogue, Druid and Mage.
• Racials: Walk on Air, Read Ley Line, Wind Blessed and Elemental Insight.

Windshaper Skyborne, Horde

• Follow elemental traditions and ride the elemental winds.
• Classes: Warrior, Hunter, Rogue, Druid and Shaman.
• Racials: Walk on Air, Skysight, Wind Blessed and Elemental Insight.

Skyborne Druids have their own sky-blue Bear, Cat, Travel and Moonkin forms, shown on stage at BlizzCon. A Tree form has not been shown. Character customization offers many skin tones, hairstyles, eye colors and markings, so a Skyborne does not have to be blue.

The Skyborne and Zephras Isle require the Skyborne Heroic Pack for 29.99 euro, or a higher edition. It is the first time Blizzard sells a playable race outside an expansion. Access only applies to the World of Warcraft account the pack was bought for.

Classes, combinations and racials

Every class and spec is reworked, with new abilities and new talent trees. Classes keep feeling unique, but talents move away from small bonuses of 1 or 2 percent towards choices with real impact. The Paladin gets a new tanking Seal, more group healing and new tools for Retribution. There are 51 talent points in total, as in Classic.

The trees keep the original shape, Blizzard told The Sun: three per class, seven rows, and five points in a row to open the next one. The one-point talents at 11, 21 and 31 points stay, and a fourth arrives at 16 points. Some talents disappear, others change and many are new. The goal is that all 27 talent trees hold up in dungeons and raids.

The new race and class combinations are the Undead Paladin, the Dwarf Shaman, the Human Hunter, the Gnome Priest, the Orc Mage and the Troll Warlock, plus the classes of the Skyborne. The Undead Paladin is tied to the first Forsaken Paladin in Warcraft III Reforged: Forsaken Kingdom.

Racials were redesigned as well. Every race now has four racials, the resistance racials are gone, and weapon specializations add Crit instead of weapon skill. The full table of races and classes, with every racial per race, is on Classes.

New systems

• Optional transmog. Transmog exists, but every player chooses whether to see it. With the option off, everyone shows their real gear.
• HD or SD graphics. Characters, models and the world can switch between the original look and updated visuals, with better lighting, fog and water.
• Camping. Players build camps in the world that others can join. Tradeskills give each other buffs there, camp features are crafted and upgraded, and resting at a camp gives benefits.
• Main and Secondary names. A full character name has two parts. Both are required, and a setting decides whether the full name is shown.
• Quality of life. Updates to riding skill (mounts still need riding skill bought in the game), gamepad support, and the Battle.net app on Windows and Mac.
• Supply crates. A Legacy perk mentions crates for the Azeroth Commerce Authority and Durotar Supply and Logistics, which return from Season of Discovery.

The Legacy system

Leveling from 1 to 60 is the heart of Classic, and the Legacy system rewards players who level more than one character. Legacy Challenges are goals in six categories: exploring, leveling classes, raising tradeskills, earning PvP ranks, maxing reputations, and finishing dungeons and raids.

Every completed challenge gives one Legacy Point. Points go into a Legacy tree with three branches, and every perk works for every character on the account. Most perks are passive, a few are activated, and none give combat power. A level 38 character on the show floor had 4 points to spend, and several nodes were marked “to be added in future patch content”.

Adventure

• Well Rested: rested XP builds up 4% faster and its cap is 4% higher.
• Talented: talent points start at level 9 instead of 10, still up to 51.
• High Alert: detect stealth as if one level higher, outside battlegrounds.
• Thrill of Adventure: killing blows on enemies that are not trivial restore 1% Health and Mana over 10 seconds, in the open world.
• Field Guide: an 8% shorter cooldown on adding camp features.
• Field Medicine: Recently Bandaged lasts 5 seconds less, in the open world.
• Frequent Flier: flight paths cost 50% less and their mounts are 20% faster.

Resourcefulness

• The Quick and the Dead: faster while dead, and helpful spells cost nothing for 1 minute after resurrection or until combat.
• Reinforce: less durability loss on death.
• Diplomat: 2% more reputation per rank.
• For Great Honor: 2% more Honor Points per rank.
• Permanence: long group buffs from your class and camp resting benefits last 50% longer.
• Gourmand: food buffs last 33% longer.
• Reagent Economy: class abilities no longer need reagents from vendors, and Tier 1 camp features cost no reagents.

The third branch holds the perks for tradeskills; those are on Tradeskills. Two demo builds were shown and their numbers differ slightly: Reinforce appeared with both 6% and 8% less durability loss. The exact values can still change before launch.

Apart from the tree, the total number of points earned unlocks a track of cosmetic rewards. Spending points on perks does not slow that track down. The rewards shown so far are the Replica Ironforge Air Rifle, the Spectral Bear Cub pet, a Spectral Bear tabard and the Reins of the Spectral Bear mount.

Tradeskill perks

Tradeskills get their first real overhaul. In Classic a tradeskill only gave recipes; in Forever every primary tradeskill also gives perks to the character who learns it, next to new and reworked recipes. The perks per tradeskill, as shown in BlizzCon footage, are on Tradeskills. The exact numbers are not final, and summer 2027 brings another round of updates.

PvP and Hardcore

• The original battlegrounds return.
• The Darkspear Islands is a new battleground for 15 against 15, similar to Eye of the Storm with capture points like Arathi Basin.
• The PvP and Honor system is updated, with new PvP seasons in spring and summer 2027.
• PvP ranks count towards Legacy Challenges.

Hardcore is coming to Forever, but not at launch. Blizzard said at the Hardcore panel on 13 September that the mode follows soon after launch, without a date or a patch.

Two things change once it is there. The game warns players before a world refresh, so they can reach a safe spot first. And a character that dies can move to any mode outside Hardcore, instead of being sent to a PvE realm. Hardcore also gets Legacy challenges and perks of its own, and Blizzard said the team is thinking about Mak’gora tournaments, without confirming anything.

Editions and prices

Forever costs nothing extra on top of a World of Warcraft subscription or Game Time. The Battle.net Shop sells three optional digital editions, and the Blizzard Gear Store sells a physical Collector’s Edition for 150 euro. Items marked * work in both modern World of Warcraft and Forever, items marked ** only in Forever, and none of them work in WoW Classic.

Included	Skyborne Heroic Pack	Skyborne Epic Pack	Warcraft Forever Collection
Price	29.99 euro	59.99 euro	79.99 euro, until 11 January 2027
Skyborne race and Zephras Isle	✓	✓	✓
Early Name Reservation, 27 October to 3 November	✓	✓	✓
Cerulean Prideclaw ground mount*	✓	✓	✓
Shen’dorei Skyseer’s Garb transmog set*	✓	✓	✓
Veteran Adventurer’s Rucksack, back transmog*	✓	✓	✓
Shen’dorei Windwell toy*	✓	✓	✓
Skyborne housing decor, modern World of Warcraft with Midnight	✓	✓	✓
Beta access, 17 September to 21 October	✕	✓	✓
30 days of Game Time, added on 4 November	✕	✓	✓
Veteran Adventurer’s Loyal Companion ground mount*	✕	✓	✓
Veteran Adventurer’s Outdoor Wear transmog set*	✕	✓	✓
Zergling, Panda, Diablo and Pachimari pets**	✕	✓	✓
Lordaeron and Shen’dorei tabards**	✕	✓	✓
Warcraft III: Reforged	✕	✕	✓
Warcraft III Reforged: Forsaken Kingdom	✕	✕	✓
Forsaken and Human figurine decor, modern World of Warcraft	✕	✕	✓
Invite-A-Friend launch codes	1	3	3

The Cerulean Prideclaw is a ground mount, so riding skill still has to be bought in the game. Housing decor only works in the housing of modern World of Warcraft, which requires Midnight.

Invite-A-Friend launch codes

Every edition includes codes that let a friend play Forever during launch week, from 4 to 11 November 2026, without a subscription or Game Time. The codes arrive by email from 20 October 2026, and the friend redeems them through Battle.net. Editions bought as a gift do not include codes.

The Collector’s Edition

The physical Collector’s Edition costs 150 euro in the Blizzard Gear Store. In Australia and New Zealand it is sold through retailers. It contains:

• a digital code for the Warcraft Forever Collection, with the Skyborne Epic Pack, Warcraft III: Reforged and Forsaken Kingdom;
• a statue of the Dwarf and his bear, 13 inches tall, based on the original cinematic;
• a Zephras Isle mousepad, art prints, collectible pins and a companion journal.

Beta access from the Collector’s Edition arrives by email and only works during the beta. Some earlier digital purchases can qualify for a Battle.net Balance credit when the Collector’s Edition code is redeemed by 31 December 2027. Not every product qualifies, according to a support article from Blizzard.

Warcraft III Reforged: Forsaken Kingdom

The story of Forever starts in a new Warcraft III campaign. Forsaken Kingdom was announced and released on 12 September 2026. It follows Sylvanas and the fall of Lordaeron, the founding of the Undercity and the first Forsaken Paladin, and it leads straight into the Undead Paladins of Forever.

The campaign has more than 30 hours of play, with a new prologue, graphics of the definitive edition, a Forsaken Paladin as neutral hero and improvements to the world editor. It is sold on its own, together with Warcraft III: Reforged, or inside the Warcraft Forever Collection.