- Release
- 4 November 2026 at 3 PM Pacific — midnight on the 5th in central Europe.
- Price
- Included in the standard World of Warcraft subscription.
- Beta
- 17 September to 23 October 2026 (extended from 21 October), level cap 20, raised to 30 on 1 October, opt-in.
- Content
- More than 1,000 new quests across levels 1 to 60, nine new dungeons and two new max-level raids.
Confirmed
Release date
4 November 2026 at 3 PM Pacific — midnight on the 5th in central Europe — on Windows and macOS. Announced at BlizzCon 2026 on 12 September.
Price
The game itself is included in the standard World of Warcraft subscription. The only thing behind a purchase is the Skyborne race and its starting zone, sold in three packs from $29.99.
Beta
17 September to 23 October 2026, Pacific time — extended by two days from the planned 21 October. The cap opened at 20 and rose to 30 on 1 October. The $59.99 and $79.99 packs included a place; the $29.99 one did not, and everyone else depended on an opt-in invite.
Content
More than 1,000 new quests across levels 1 to 60, nine new dungeons, two new max-level raids, four new zones, one new battleground and 600-plus new profession recipes, on top of overhauled existing zones.
Races and classes
The Skyborne elves, who can join either faction, and six new pairs: Undead Paladin, Dwarf Shaman, Gnome Priest, Human Hunter, Orc Mage and Troll Warlock. Every race gets two active and two passive racials.
No realms
There is no realm list. You pick a ruleset — Normal, PvP, Roleplaying, and Hardcore once it arrives — and the world is shared. Faction restrictions on grouping stay.
Controller
Native Xbox controller support at launch, through the game's own interface, with no addon or setup required.
Visuals
New lighting, global illumination, volumetric effects, a new water renderer and real-time shadows, with a toggle between the original SD models and the HD ones. The Skyborne are HD only for now; their SD models are due in early 2027.
Not confirmed, and worth not assuming
Classic Era characters
Blizzard has not said whether Classic Era characters can be copied or transferred into Forever, nor what happens to Classic Era servers once it launches. Nothing in this guide assumes either.
Skyborne details
Blizzard's Meet the New Skyborne post of 22 September 2026 gives their racials, and the beta build of 15 October retuned them. Both sides get Walk on Air, a ten-second glide downward, now on a 90-second cooldown, and two passives: Wind Blessed, 3% haste (it was 1%), and Elemental Insight, 5% more damage to Elementals. The Horde's Windshapers add Skysight, 10% run speed; the Alliance's High Order add Read Ley Line, 100% faster health and mana regeneration. Zephras Isle covers levels 1 to 12. Their mount and their capital are still not published.
The hardcore date
Hardcore is a separate, closed ruleset that arrives after launch. Developers said "by winter" at BlizzCon; there is no date.
Raid bosses
The Barrow Deeps (10 players, eight bosses) and Hyjal Summit (20 players, 13 bosses) open on 9 December, together with Onyxia’s Lair (40), which each player enters only with the Drakefire Amulet from a faction attunement questline. Blizzard has not presented the new bosses or their loot.
Phase cadence
Blizzard’s roadmap slide: launch on 4 November with the dungeons; three raids open on 9 December — the Barrow Deeps at 10 players, Hyjal Summit at 20 and Onyxia’s Lair at 40, as Blizzard’s raid overview of 20 October confirms; Hardcore over the winter; spring 2027 brings two new raids (10 and 20 players), two dungeons, a new area with quests, a legendary questline and a PvP season refresh; summer 2027 a revamped iconic raid, a new raid and two more dungeons. Beyond 9 December those are seasons, not dates; the level cap of 60 stays throughout.
Still to verify
Cross-checked on 19 September 2026 and re-checked on 22 September 2026 against the BlizzCon and pricing reports of Game Informer and Blizzard Watch, the Warcraft Wiki, MMORPG.com, Guided.news, Icy Veins and ClassicWoW.gg, and against Blizzard's own ‘Beta Now Live’ notice and Meet the New Skyborne post, once more on 2 October 2026 against Blizzard's beta development notes of 1 October, and on 3 October 2026 against WoW Forever Guides' professions page. Re-checked on 22 October 2026 against Blizzard’s raid overview of 20 October, its beta development notes of 15 October (Skyborne racials), its Skyborne visuals post of 7 October and its forum notice moving the beta’s end to 23 October, and against Blizzard Watch, GameSpot, Eurogamer and PC Gamer; the Skyborne’s SD models are given only by Blizzard and Blizzard Watch, and the new racial values only by Blizzard’s notes. What is still unverified has to be confirmed in-game. Still to confirm in-game.