Blizzard Unveils ‘World Of Warcraft: Forever,’ A New Permanent Home For Classic-Era Azeroth

Blizzard Entertainment used BlizzCon 2026 to reveal World of Warcraft: Forever, a standalone game the studio is pitching as a lasting third pillar alongside modern World of Warcraft and WoW Classic. Rather than a seasonal mode, Blizzard is framing Forever as a permanent, continuously expanding version of the original Azeroth — one built to keep growing rather than reset or be retired.

The game is set after the events of Warcraft III Reforged: Forsaken Kingdom and before the original Molten Core raid, placing it firmly in WoW’s early “Year 1” era. Players will return to the Eastern Kingdoms and Kalimdor, leveling a character from 1 to 60 through more than a thousand new and reworked quests layered into the classic map. New zones include a restored Mount Hyjal, the mystery-driven region of Shen’dralas, a frontier zone called Riverglades, and Zephras Isle, an elemental sky-themed starting area for a new playable race, the Skyborne.

The Skyborne can align with either faction at creation — Horde-aligned Skyborne gain access to the Shaman class through elemental traditions, while Alliance-aligned Skyborne become Mages tied to an arcane legacy. Both sides can also play Warrior, Hunter, Rogue, and Druid, including new Skyborne-specific druid forms.

For the endgame, Blizzard detailed nine new dungeons — including the Hall of Thanes, the Ruins of Lordaeron, and the Drowned City — plus two new raids: the 10-player Barrow Deeps and the 20-player Hyjal Summit. A new 15v15 PvP battleground, the Darkspear Islands, is also planned. Design leads said the project is guided by four pillars: staying approachable, keeping the world itself as the star, valuing the journey over the destination, and protecting Azeroth’s social fabric — meaning no flying mounts and no level scaling.

New infrastructure systems announced during a following Deep Dive panel include two-part character names (to allow more original names while keeping identities recognizable region-wide), a “Camping” system letting players drop craftable campfires that buff nearby adventurers, and a “Legacy” progression track that lets veteran players earn account-wide points to spend across Professions, Adventure, and Resourcefulness skill trees.

World of Warcraft: Forever launches globally on November 4 at 3 p.m. PST, with beta access beginning September 17. Access is included with an active WoW subscription or Game Time.

Blizzard is also selling optional upgrade editions through the Battle.net Shop — the Skyborne Heroic Pack, the Skyborne Epic Pack (which includes beta access and 30 days of Game Time), and a limited-time Warcraft Forever Collection bundling in Warcraft III: Reforged and its Forsaken Kingdom campaign. A physical Collector’s Edition is also available through the Blizzard Gear Store while supplies last. Blizzard says new raid content will begin unlocking December 9, with additional dungeons, PvP updates, and a Hardcore mode planned to follow as part of the game’s promised long-term support.