World of Warcraft: Forever is a third permanent version of WoW, beside the modern game and WoW Classic: a reimagined original Azeroth that Blizzard says is ready to grow for years. It opens globally on 4 November 2026 at 15:00 PST, 23:00 UTC, and is included with a World of Warcraft subscription or Game Time. Instead of a realm list you pick a ruleset — Normal, PvP, Roleplaying or Roleplay-PvP, with Hardcore after launch — and early name reservation runs from 27 October to 3 November for anyone with an upgrade pack.
Launch moment: Wednesday, 4 November 2026 at 23:00 UTC, the same instant everywhere.Launch moment for you One instant worldwide: 4 November at 15:00 PST, which is 23:00 UTC — 5 November at 00:00 in central Europe and 08:00 in Japan. US daylight saving time ends on 1 November, so launch day is on standard time.
There is no realm list to scroll. Say whether your friends already picked a ruleset, or how you feel about open-world PvP and roleplay, and the picker names one.
Your ruleset
The baseline World of Warcraft experience: you fight other players only when you choose to.
This is the ruleset that matches both answers.
Your friends are there. Groups, dungeons and raids only work inside one ruleset, so theirs is yours.
Your ruleset
For players who want every trip into contested territory to carry more danger, excitement and open-world conflict.
This is the ruleset that matches both answers.
Your friends are there. Groups, dungeons and raids only work inside one ruleset, so theirs is yours.
Your ruleset
For players who want to lean more deeply into the fantasy of Azeroth and seek out like-minded adventurers.
This is the ruleset that matches both answers.
Your friends are there. Groups, dungeons and raids only work inside one ruleset, so theirs is yours.
Your ruleset
Roleplaying with open-world conflict. Blizzard added it on 22 October, for launch and for early name reservation.
This is the ruleset that matches both answers.
Your friends are there. Groups, dungeons and raids only work inside one ruleset, so theirs is yours.
Not at launch
Hardcore rulesetFor players seeking the ultimate challenge, where every decision matters and death carries lasting consequences.
After launch, with no date yet. A Hardcore character that dies can move to another ruleset; progress from other rulesets never flows back into Hardcore.
Descriptions are Blizzard's own; the picker adds nothing to them. Blizzard — Choose Your Ruleset in World of Warcraft: Forever
Blizzard's own table of race and class pairs, with the six pairs new to this version starred. Pick a class to see every race that can take it, or a race to see its classes and racial traits.
Pick a class
| Druid | Hunter | Mage | Paladin | Priest | Rogue | Shaman | Warlock | Warrior | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Horde | |||||||||
| · | ● | ★ | · | · | ● | ● | ● | ● | |
| ● | ● | · | · | · | · | ● | · | ● | |
| · | ● | ● | · | ● | ● | ● | ★ | ● | |
| · | · | ● | ★ | ● | ● | · | ● | ● | |
| ● | ● | · | · | · | ● | ● | · | ● | |
| Alliance | |||||||||
| · | ● | · | ● | ● | ● | ★ | · | ● | |
| · | · | ● | · | ★ | ● | · | ● | ● | |
| · | ★ | ● | ● | ● | ● | · | ● | ● | |
| ● | ● | · | · | ● | ● | · | · | ● | |
| ● | ● | ● | · | · | ● | · | · | ● | |
Allowed pair New pair in this version
Pick a class above, or tap a race in the grid.
Druid
Hunter
Mage
Paladin
Priest
Rogue
Shaman
Warlock
Warrior
Horde
Horde
Horde
Horde
Horde
A new race in WoW: Forever. Skyborne who join the Horde take the Shaman class; both sides start on Zephras Isle, levels 1 to 12, with their own druid forms.
Alliance
Alliance
Alliance
Alliance
Alliance
A new race in WoW: Forever. Skyborne who join the Alliance take the Mage class; both sides start on Zephras Isle, levels 1 to 12, with their own druid forms.
Pairs are Blizzard's own table; the picker adds nothing to it. Blizzard — Create the Hero You Want to Be in World of Warcraft: Forever · Blizzard — WoW: Forever: Meet the New Skyborne
| Where | Local time | Local date |
|---|---|---|
| US PacificAmerica/Los Angeles | 15:00 | Wed 4 Nov |
| US EasternAmerica/New York | 18:00 | Wed 4 Nov |
| BrazilAmerica/Sao Paulo | 20:00 | Wed 4 Nov |
| UKEurope/London | 23:00 | Wed 4 Nov |
| Central EuropeEurope/Berlin | 00:00 | Thu 5 Nov — the day after |
| MoscowEurope/Moscow | 02:00 | Thu 5 Nov — the day after |
| IndiaAsia/Kolkata | 04:30 | Thu 5 Nov — the day after |
| PhilippinesAsia/Manila | 07:00 | Thu 5 Nov — the day after |
| Japan & KoreaAsia/Tokyo | 08:00 | Thu 5 Nov — the day after |
| Australia (east)Australia/Sydney | 10:00 | Thu 5 Nov — the day after |
| New ZealandPacific/Auckland | 12:00 | Thu 5 Nov — the day after |
Because it is one moment rather than a midnight in each region, switching your console or store region buys you nothing — there is no zone that reaches it first. The countdown above is this same instant read on your own device's clock.
15:00 PST on 4 November: one global instant, which is already 5 November in Europe and Asia.
With any upgrade pack: up to three characters in total across all rulesets, created and customised before launch. Names are first come, first served.
Or with Game Time. The Skyborne race and its Zephras Isle start need an upgrade pack.
Skyborne Heroic Pack, Skyborne Epic Pack and Warcraft Forever Collection on the US Battle.net Shop. None of them is needed to play.
Hardcore comes after launch. You cannot group across rulesets, and Horde and Alliance stay apart.
Older architectures will not run it: a GeForce GTX 760, 770 or 780 is out, while a GTX 750 Ti or Radeon HD 7850 starts the game but sits well below the minimum.
Codes from the upgrade packs let a friend play launch week without a subscription or Game Time.
Through the Battle.net app. A Mac needs macOS 12 and an Apple M2 or a 9th-generation Intel Core at least.
It ran from 17 September for Skyborne Epic Pack and Warcraft Forever Collection buyers.
For Skyborne Epic Pack and Warcraft Forever Collection buyers.
As scheduled in Blizzard's announcement.
Available at launch and in early name reservation.
Region by region, from 13:00 PDT in North America; up to three characters with any upgrade pack.
The day before launch.
Today15:00 PST, 23:00 UTC, worldwide at once.
In 1 dayInvited friends play free from 4 to 11 November.
In 8 daysBarrow Deeps, Hyjal Summit and Onyxia's Lair, for level 60 characters.
In 36 daysThe limited-time bundle with Warcraft III: Reforged.
In 69 daysPrices are US list prices where the publisher has stated them; regional pricing differs.
Everything here runs in the browser and takes minutes, so the first hour with the game is spent playing.
At one moment worldwide: 4 November 2026 at 15:00 PST, which is 23:00 UTC — 23:00 in London, 00:00 on 5 November in central Europe and 08:00 on 5 November in Tokyo. US daylight saving time ends on 1 November, so the launch day is on standard time.
From 27 October to 3 November 2026. It opened region by region on 27 October — 13:00 PDT in North America, 18:00 CET in Europe and 07:00 on 28 October in Korea and Taiwan — for anyone with an upgrade pack. You can create and customise up to three characters in total across all rulesets, and names are first come, first served, so Blizzard does not guarantee the one you want.
Yes. Access is included with a World of Warcraft subscription or Game Time. The Skyborne race and its Zephras Isle starting experience are the exception: they need the Skyborne Heroic Pack or a higher edition.
Blizzard's advice is Enhanced if you are not sure. Classic starts with Standard Definition models, quest markers off, separate bags, transmog off, the movement keys set to turn the camera and the original screen layout; Enhanced starts with High Definition models, quest markers on, one bag, transmog on, the movement keys set to strafe and a centred interface. You choose once, at your first login and before the ruleset, and every setting can be changed later under Game Menu › Options.
Normal, PvP, Roleplaying and Roleplay-PvP at launch, with Hardcore coming after launch. WoW: Forever has no realm list: each ruleset is a large shared space, and you can group, run dungeons and raid only with players on the same ruleset. Battlegrounds can mix rulesets, except Hardcore.
Not in groups, dungeons or raids: cross-ruleset grouping is not supported, and you cannot move a character between rulesets — you make a new one. Battlegrounds can put you with players from other rulesets, except Hardcore, and Horde and Alliance still cannot group.
Minimum: Windows 10 64-bit, a 4-core 3.0 GHz processor (Intel Haswell or AMD Zen), a 4 GB DirectX 12 GPU from the GeForce GTX 10 series, Radeon RDNA 1 or Intel Lunar Lake graphics, 8 GB of RAM and 128 GB on an SSD. Recommended: Windows 11, an 8-core processor boosting to 5.2 GHz (Core Ultra Series 2 or Ryzen Zen 5), an 8 GB GeForce RTX 40 series, Radeon RDNA 3 or Arc B-Series card and 16 GB of RAM. Both need a broadband connection and a 1280 × 720 display.
Only if it is based on AMD Graphics Core Next 1 (2012), NVIDIA Maxwell (2014) or Intel Skylake (2015) or newer, because the new look needs RGBA16F UAV support in compute shaders. A GeForce GTX 760, 770 or 780 will not run it; a GTX 750 Ti or Radeon HD 7850 will start it, but sits well below the minimum, which is a 4 GB DirectX 12 card from the GeForce GTX 10 series or Radeon RDNA 1.
Yes, through the Battle.net app. The minimum is macOS 12 with an Apple M2 or a 9th-generation Intel Core and 8 GB of RAM; Blizzard recommends macOS 15 and an Apple M4 with 16 GB, and 128 GB on an SSD either way.
On the US Battle.net Shop the Skyborne Heroic Pack costs $29.99 and adds the Skyborne race and its Zephras Isle start, early name reservation, a mount, cosmetics, housing decor for modern WoW and one Invite-A-Friend code. The Skyborne Epic Pack, $59.99, adds beta access, 30 days of Game Time from 4 November, more cosmetics and two more codes. The Warcraft Forever Collection, $79.99, adds Warcraft III: Reforged and its Forsaken Kingdom campaign, and is on sale until 11 January 2027.
On 9 December 2026, five weeks after launch: Barrow Deeps, Hyjal Summit and Onyxia's Lair, for level 60 characters. Onyxia's Lair asks for an attunement the first time you enter it.
After launch; Blizzard has not given a date. Hardcore characters will live in a closed space, and one that dies can move to another ruleset, while progress from other rulesets will not flow back into Hardcore.
A code from the upgrade packs that lets a friend play WoW: Forever from 4 to 11 November 2026 without a subscription or Game Time. The Heroic Pack has one, the Epic Pack and the Collection have three in total, and Blizzard has been sending the codes by email since 20 October.
I answer from this site only — the 28 browser tests, the controls library for 46 games, the sensitivity converters and the two games. I can tell you which page to open, how a tool works and what its result means.
I will not guess. If something is not on the site, I will say so.
Answers come from this site's pages.