What is World of Warcraft: Forever? The new WoW from the Classic team, explained

World of Warcraft: Forever is a new version of WoW made by the team behind WoW Classic: a reimagined Azeroth with revamped gameplay, rooted in the original game, with a level cap of 60. It launches on November 4, 2026 on PC and Mac, and access is included with a World of Warcraft Subscription or Game Time. This overview uses only Blizzard sources (the articles since BlizzCon 2026, the press fact sheet, the Battle.net Shop), and every section links to a detailed guide.

At a glance

What kind of game it is

You pick the Alliance or the Horde and level from 1 to 60 in an Azeroth that is familiar but changed. The press fact sheet promises over 1,000 new quests across Azeroth, revamped talent trees and new gear. The graphics get new lighting and volumetric fog, with a Classic Mode and a choice of HD or SD models. Transmog is optional, and gamepads are officially supported. Post-launch updates will add content at every level, so arriving later does not mean falling behind.

Price: subscription and optional editions

Forever is not sold separately: in Blizzard's words, access is "included with your World of Warcraft Subscription or Game Time". On top of that there are three optional upgrade editions.

The Collection is on sale until January 11, 2027. A physical Collector's Edition is also announced through the Blizzard Gear Store. Full comparison: editions and prices.

Races and classes

There are nine classes: Druid, Hunter, Mage, Paladin, Priest, Rogue, Shaman, Warlock and Warrior. The new race is the Skyborne, playable on both sides: Windshaper Skyborne for the Horde (they can be Shamans) and High Order Skyborne for the Alliance (they can be Mages). They start on Zephras Isle, levels 1 to 12, and playing them requires the Skyborne Heroic Pack or higher.

Six race-class combinations are new: Gnome Priest, Human Hunter, Dwarf Shaman, Orc Mage, Troll Warlock and Undead Paladin, the Forsaken Paladins. The full table is in the races and classes guide.

The world: zones, dungeons and raids

New zones include Zephras Isle, the Riverglades (an Eastern Kingdoms frontier for roughly the mid-30s to mid-40s), Mount Hyjal and Shen'dralas, between Mulgore and Desolace. The press fact sheet says "Riverlands", but every public Blizzard page says Riverglades.

There are nine new dungeons, from the Hall of Thanes beneath Ironforge to the City of Dalaran. The two raids are Hyjal Summit (20 players, 13 bosses) and the Barrow Deeps (10 players, 8 bosses), and new raids unlock on December 9. There is also a new 15v15 battleground, the Darkspear Islands. Details: zones, dungeons and raids.

New systems: Legacy and Camping

The Legacy System is an account-wide horizontal progression: 65 challenges that earn Legacy Points to spend on perks, plus rewards. It usually unlocks around level 25. See the Legacy System guide.

Camping turns the old Cooking Fire into a Basic Campfire: other players can stop by, add items from their professions and share buffs. See Camping and professions.

Rulesets

You don't pick a realm, you pick a ruleset: Normal, PvP, Roleplaying or Hardcore, which arrives after launch. Each ruleset is its own world and a character can't switch. More in the rulesets guide.

Beta and launch

The beta runs from September 17 to October 21, 2026 (PST), by invitation or with the Epic Pack or the Collection. Early Name Reservation runs from October 27 to November 3. Launch is November 4 at 3:00 p.m. PST, which is midnight between November 4 and 5 in Central Europe. All times and dates: release date guide and the calendar.

Languages

On the Battle.net Shop page for Forever, read on October 10, 2026, the available languages are English (US and EU), Spanish (Latin America and Europe), Brazilian Portuguese, German, French, Russian, Korean and Traditional Chinese. Italian is not in the list, while the same page lists it for modern WoW. In the game you can also set a preferred online language to meet players who share it.

What we don't know yet

• When Hardcore will arrive: Blizzard only says "sometime after launch".
• Which raids unlock on December 9.
• Price and contents of the Collector's Edition.
• Whether Italian will come later: no article mentions it, so it is worth checking again at launch.

Unfamiliar terms: see the glossary and the FAQ.