Release Date & Schedule

1. September 12, 2026

   Announced at BlizzCon 2026; upgrade pre-purchase opens[2][3]

2. September 17, 2026

   Beta begins[4]

   Skyborne Epic Pack and Warcraft Forever Collection owners took part, along with invited players.

3. October 21, 2026, 2:00–6:00 p.m. PDT

   Stress test[5][6]

   Anyone with a WoW account could join without a subscription. All stress test characters and names were deleted afterward.

4. October 23, 2026, 10:00 a.m. PDT

   Beta ends[7]

5. October 27, 1:00 p.m. PDT – November 3, 2026

   Early Name Reservation[8]

   Accounts with a digital upgrade or the Collector's Edition can create up to three characters in total across all rulesets. Names are first-come, first-served, and the exact end time hasn't been announced.

6. Wednesday, November 4, 2026, 3:00 p.m. PST

   Global launch[1]

   WoW: Forever goes live at the same moment worldwide.

7. November 4–11, 2026

   Play free with an Invite-A-Friend Launch Code[3][9]

   If a friend who bought an upgrade sends you an Invite-A-Friend Launch Code, you can play during this window without a subscription, as long as you're eligible.

8. December 9, 2026

   Three raids open[10]

   Barrow Deeps (10 players), Hyjal Summit (20 players) and Onyxia's Lair (40 players) open. The unlock time hasn't been announced yet. All raids reset weekly.

9. January 11, 2027

   Warcraft Forever Collection leaves the shop[3][9]

   It's a limited-time bundle.

10. After launch (date TBA)Date TBA

    Hardcore ruleset arrives[1][11]

    Hardcore is planned for after launch. The date and detailed rules haven't been announced yet.

1. 1More raids and dungeons[12]
2. 2PvP updates[12]
3. 3World content[12]
4. 4More quests across levels 1–60[12]
5. 5Hardcore[12]
6. 6A revamped iconic raid[12]

Blizzard says that, apart from bugs and serious outliers, it doesn't plan big tuning changes before the raids open. Once there's enough data from players leveling past 30, it expects to do a large tuning pass.[13]

• Price · Specs · Install

  What you need to play, system requirements and how to install from the Battle.net app

  View

• Choose a ruleset

  The four rulesets that replace the realm list, and what you need to play together

  View

• Plan your talents

  Try the talent trees of all 9 classes and share your build with a link

  View