Today, on September 17, 2026, the beta of WoW: Forever starts, and there will be a Q&A from Blizzard about the new Classic variant of World of Warcraft. In the live ticker, we will keep you updated on all of this today.
Thursday, 09/17/2026
21:52
So, friends of Azeroth. I’m packing up my things for today. The good news: The beta lasts a long time! Still, it’s not too far until the official launch of WoW: Forever. Whether today, tomorrow, or in November: I wish you lots of fun in the new Azeroth! Unless you play Alliance, then watch your back.
21:41
Sieglinde gives up for today but wants to attack again tomorrow morning. My installation is done. I’m not even going to try today, but just heading to bed. How about you?
21:32
Papaplatte is also trying his luck. Server information has already been retrieved. Disco. 17,000 queue.
21:30
FalganWoW was lucky, he is currently playing through Mulgore, on Twitch.
21:29
Metashi, Sieglinde, Naguura … all experienced a disconnection again while logging in at position 1.
21:27
Okay, Xaryu is currently watching on Twitch a streamer who has landed in the undead starting zone, and there are many other characters standing around. So it is possible.
21:24
I see a lot of login queues and no one actually playing. Instead, everyone is going through the disco circle of life => waiting, arriving, getting kicked out, waiting again.
21:21
Xaryu fought through the queue and the message follows: Retrieving server information. This is taking a long time. Then: Disco! 13,105 in the queue, another 28 minutes waiting time.
21:18
Oh no, Sieglinde almost made it, and then: Disco! Now he’s at 10,758 and 22 minutes waiting time.
21:15
The servers are up, and the queues are already enormous. Sieglinde is at position 992 and 2 minutes waiting time, Metashi at 6,312 and 13 minutes.
21:06
Things are moving forward, but the login servers are still acting up. The download is a bit over 60 GB.
21:04
See for yourselves:
10:28
Welcome to the live ticker this Thursday! We are excited about the beta of WoW: Forever, are you too? In the coming hours, we will keep you updated on the upcoming test, the exact start time, any server issues, and the Q&A from Blizzard planned for 7:00 PM.
What do I need to know about the beta of WoW: Forever? The beta of WoW: Forever starts today, September 17, 2026. The start time is likely around 8 PM, at the end of the Q&A stream from Blizzard. Everyone who has secured the paid Epic or collection versions of Forever is allowed to participate. Interested parties can also register for the beta and hope to receive an invitation.
The beta is set to run until October 22, 2026. All beta participants should be able to level up to level 30 during this time. The final release of WoW: Forever is planned for November 4 or 5, 2026. You can find all details about the beta that are currently known in our extensive overview.
What do I need to know about the Q&A? It will take place on September 17, 2026, at 7:00 PM on the official Twitch and YouTube channels of Warcraft. First, there will be half an hour about modern World of Warcraft. After that, from 7:30 PM, WoW: Forever will be on the agenda.
How long the stream will last in total is unclear. According to one of the developers’ posts on Reddit, however, the beta of WoW: Forever is supposed to go live right after the stream ends, so probably around 8:00 PM.
In the live ticker, we accompany the beta start and the Q&A with the most important insights. How does it look: Are you diving into the beta, waiting for the final start, or does WoW: Forever leave you cold? Feel free to let us know in the comments! More about the new Classic Plus can be found here: Release, roadmap, beta – all important information about WoW Forever
21:03
WARNING! After a restart of the launcher, I was able to start the installation.
21:02
It’s getting late and some creators are getting nervous. How long are you waiting today before giving up? I’ll be around until about 10 PM for you.
20:48
On X and Co., Blizzard remains quiet. There is no update on the state of the servers.
20:41
Warm regards to Metashi – he just came by with his community. May we all get into the beta soon, the Classic community is crazy.
20:35
So, 8:30 PM was nothing either. Blizzard apparently underestimated the rush on the beta servers. And this, even though they should know from the purchases and sent invitations exactly how many players qualify for the test phase. And even though they have already had comparable experiences with WoW Classic.
20:29
Some streamers are currently trolling by letting videos play in the background and casually mentioning that they are inside. They are not inside. Everyone is waiting.
20:20
For Naguura, there was just the message that maintenance is running for the servers. Is that planned?
20:18
I briefly stopped by Sieglinde on Twitch: The Classic veteran is also waiting but is sweetening the waiting time with a thunderstorm of subs. Well deserved. Good man!
20:13
Speculation is currently ongoing at Metashi that the beta will start at 8:30 PM. He himself believes strongly enough to quickly hit the bathroom.
20:10
What a shame, a restart of the launcher didn’t help.
20:05
How did you find the Q&A, were important questions left unanswered? Unfortunately, it didn’t address the high-level item progression. That would have interested me very much.
20:04
That’s it for the Q&A, and the beta is supposed to start “in a few minutes”. I am excited.
20:01
PvP is supposed to play an important role in WoW: Forever, through the new ranking system and a new battleground. In addition, there is a desire to achieve balance so that not everyone feels forced to sit in Alterac Valley for weeks.
20:00
Transmog is an option in WoW: Forever. Those who want to express themselves visually and build a collection can do so. Those who want to ignore the feature can also do so (and can hide transmog skins from others). Cool: You can define sets and switch between them when exchanging items.
19:59
WoW: Forever will not offer flexible raid sizes but will focus on raids of different sizes across all tier levels. Additionally, 40-player raids will be exceptions (like Onyxia). Most raid challenges will be aimed at 10 or 20 players.
Plus: There will be no cross-faction gameplay. Horde and Alliance hate each other.
And: All dungeons and raids will only have one difficulty level.
19:53
Here again, the confirmation: WoW: Forever will have the addon restrictions of modern WoW. Players should not feel the need to use modifications to play the game. Many benefits of addons should also be offered by WoW: Forever through its base functions, like a damage meter. Even an official swing timer is supposed to come.
19:48
Gold-DKP-runs will not be allowed in WoW: Forever. They undermine classic guilds and strengthen real money trading on servers. Those caught buying gold with real money will face harsh penalties. The developers are talking about permanent bans.
19:47
Do you have to choose a first AND last name in WoW: Forever? The developers unfortunately say: Yes! The reason: Names are valid across regions and rule sets. Without this additional distinction, many popular names would be unreachable for many players. Also, this way, you can build a whole family dynasty of characters.
19:44
Just as they just navigated around Ahn’Qiraj, I am sure that something new, an adapted experience awaits us at the opening event of AQ20 and AQ40.
19:43
WoW: Forever will not have traditional servers. Instead, you’ll choose between rule options for PvP, PvE, and role-playing (and later hardcore). Then you play with all players who have selected the same rule set. Exception: On the battlefields, you can also encounter players from other rule sets.
There is the option to select a preferred language. Then WoW primarily matches you with players of your rule set who have selected the same language. Additionally, you should regularly meet familiar faces, fostering social bonds.
19:39
In WoW: Forever, you can select the old Classic animations as well as the SD graphics, but they will not go as far as to bring back the old Classic skeletons to bring back the ultimate feeling of back then. However, they are very close to that old, original player experience.
19:36
The first question revolves around the sky-born, who are related to the other elf races. However, they have taken different paths. The new race tends to rely on natural and elemental magic, as they never had access to the Sunwell.
The developers admit that they absolutely wanted to create an elf race for WoW: Forever. Surely because they are among the most frequently used races in WoW. Many players simply enjoy playing elves. They also considered high elves. Apparently, a certain legendary named Thunderfury helped create the sky-born in the end.
19:30
It continues. Now with WoW: Forever.
19:25
That’s it for WoW: Midnight. Up next is WoW: Forever. The install button is still inactive.
19:24
The world soul saga is gaining momentum, and therefore it is unlikely that we will see new playable races like the sky-born in modern WoW during Midnight or The Last Titan. However, there will be further additions after the saga.
19:21
The new roguelite mode Talebound is said to have high replayability and give you the opportunity to grow stronger from run to run. Moreover, the runs are supposed to play out very differently due to the variety of options and different classes. And the mode is supposed to run long enough to secure all rewards before the start of WotLK Remix.
19:19
The sword of Sargeras will still play a role, and we should be ready.
19:17
In the future, whimsical vendors could return in the raids of WoW if it fits the mood and setting of the current events.
19:15
It shifts to class design and reducing the complexity of many classes. The developers are currently very satisfied with how many specializations work and play. As positive examples, they mention the Outlaw Rogue and the Caller.
19:12
What does the future of housing look like in WoW? Well, it is growing and will continue to grow gradually, with more options to express oneself individually. At BlizzCon, some new housing features such as mannequins and showcase functionality were presented.
19:10
Wrath of the Lich King will be the next remix version because it simply fits with The Last Titan; the next expansion of WoW will also take us to Northrend.
19:08
Many players keep asking for more options for character creation and visual customization of their character. The developers give hope: A lot is planned for the future, such as fewer transmog restrictions and more opportunities for character creation (new hairstyles, more hair colors, as well as modification options that currently do not exist).
19:06
Everyone is looking forward to undead paladins. In modern WoW, there will be even more fresh race and class combinations in the future. It always depends on what the story currently offers.
19:02
Info number 1 about modern World of Warcraft: There should eventually be faction-related stories again, around which WoW revolves. For the record: For the Horde!
19:01
Kaivax – a real WoW legend! Anyone who has been playing WoW for many years knows this name.
19:00
19:00, let’s go!
18:54
As a small reminder: The Q&A revolves around modern WoW in the first half and around WoW: Forever in the second half. In the meantime, I keep an eye on the install button and will release an update as soon as it is clickable.
18:51
10-minute warning! Okay, 9.
18:14
Only about 45 minutes until the start of the Q&A. So you don’t have to scroll all the way down, here again are the important links:
– Blizzard on YouTube
– Blizzard on Twitch
Or directly here:
17:56
And here’s another detail from the many interview summaries of the past few days, but this time for PvE fans: Blizzard wants to avoid players hanging out in dungeons in WoW: Forever in any form to farm experience as efficiently as possible. Therefore, they are introducing a crucial change:
For killing monsters, there is only a little XP, however, you make an enormous leap when you complete the associated dungeon quests. This means: The first run through a dungeon is extremely rewarding because you ideally have all the quests right at the start. The rewards from the quests are also excellent. However, repeatedly visiting the dungeons without the quests isn’t worthwhile at all.
What do you think about it?
17:52
If you want to play WoW: Forever with the PvP rule set, note an important thing: There you can only create characters of one faction. Blizzard is bringing back the old restriction for faction wars. More details about the removal of the old servers can be found here: WoW Forever bids farewell to servers after 21 years, but think of all who are looking for a German community
17:23
In the Blizzard launcher, not much has happened yet. The install button for WoW: Forever is still grayed out. But it’s not long until Blizzard’s Q&A. A little more than 90 minutes.
17:20
I also briefly played Aion 2, it is now relatively easy to log in. NCSoft has now also added a fourth server. It plays smoothly, looks great. My wife, who played the first Aion for a long time, can hardly contain her excited joy – she finds familiar details everywhere, just much more detailed.
16:06
For everyone coming home from work: Nope, the beta has not started yet, you haven’t missed anything. Blizzard’s plan is to start the beta after the Q&A tonight. It starts at 7:00 PM and the part about WoW: Forever is supposed to start at 7:30 PM. Therefore, we currently expect a beta start around 8:00 PM.
15:48
In WoW: Forever, there will be a new PvP system: You will progress along a advancement path through the 14 PvP ranks from classic and can earn rewards like cosmetics and PvP gear along the way. Honor for progressing through the path will be earned through battlegrounds and other PvP-related content. How does that sound to you?
15:35
Uh, all right, colleague Sophia is in. So you can look forward to a little report from the playtest of Aion 2. But now back to full concentration on WoW: Forever.
15:30
The servers of Aion 2 are currently undergoing a heavy stress test. Over 59,000 players are already in the game according to steamdb.info. We can’t get in yet. How about you?
15:07
Short status update from the Aion-2 testing phase: The launch is difficult, we can’t access the servers, character settings are restricted. 😉
14:57
A WoW fan has created a talent planner for Forever where you can freely experiment without registration and check out the new talents. Where? On guildmanager.app. On Reddit you can find the associated post.
14:01
In WoW: Forever, our heroes will remain at a maximum level forever. We asked you in a survey how you feel about that, here are the results: In WoW Forever, you remain level 60 forever and only 4 percent of you swim against the tide
13:55
Just under 5 hours until the Q&A. To prepare for the beta, we have the cinematic trailer again for you – watching the bear play with the wisp, we could watch that for hours:
12:41
But we are here for the beta of WoW: Forever. Here are the most important details again:
– The beta runs from September 17, 2026, to October 22, 2026.
– We estimate the start time to be around 8:00 PM, following Blizzard’s Q&A
– Participation is allowed for those who have secured the paid Epic or collection versions of Forever. Additionally, interested parties can register for the beta and hope for an invitation.
– The beta is expected to run until October 22, 2026, and all beta participants should be able to level up to level 30 during that time. The final release of WoW: Forever is planned for November 4 or 5, 2026. You can find all details about the beta that are known so far in our extensive overview.
12:07
Today, by the way, is something like a clash of the “betas”. From 3:00 PM to 9:00 PM, the first of two playtests of Aion 2 is also running on Steam. Since everyone is allowed to participate in this test, it could be a great way to shorten the waiting time for WoW: Forever.
Tomorrow, from 9:00 PM to 3:00 AM, the second playtest will follow. You can find all the details about the tests here: Aion 2 Beta: Everything you need to know about the stress test before the global release
11:41
The beta of WoW: Forever is likely to answer many of the still open questions. For example, regarding official addon support. According to pixeltwelve.com, the new World of Warcraft will use the same rules as modern Midnight. Addons that process combat information to automatically set markers and alerts will likely not be supported.
11:02
Do you already know what kind of character you want to create this evening? Various new class and race combinations will be introduced into the game, plus the new race of sky-born. What the “air elves who have licked clouds too often” are all about, you can find out here: WoW: Forever – This is what the sky-born, the new race in Classic+ looks like
10:43
Who else is currently looking at this picture here?
10:28
Welcome to the live ticker this Thursday! We are excited about the beta of WoW: Forever, are you too? In the coming hours, we will keep you updated on the upcoming test, the exact start time, any server issues, and the Q&A from Blizzard planned for 7:00 PM.
What do I need to know about the beta of WoW: Forever? The beta of WoW: Forever starts today, September 17, 2026. The start time is likely around 8 PM, at the end of the Q&A stream from Blizzard. Everyone who has secured the paid Epic or collection versions of Forever is allowed to participate. Interested parties can also register for the beta and hope to receive an invitation.
The beta is set to run until October 22, 2026. All beta participants should be able to level up to level 30 during this time. The final release of WoW: Forever is planned for November 4 or 5, 2026. You can find all details about the beta that are currently known in our extensive overview.
What do I need to know about the Q&A? It will take place on September 17, 2026, at 7:00 PM on the official Twitch and YouTube channels of Warcraft. First, there will be half an hour about modern World of Warcraft. After that, from 7:30 PM, WoW: Forever will be on the agenda.
How long the stream will last in total is unclear. According to one of the developers’ posts on Reddit, however, the beta of WoW: Forever is supposed to go live right after the stream ends, so probably around 8:00 PM.
In the live ticker, we accompany the beta start and the Q&A with the most important insights. How does it look: Are you diving into the beta, waiting for the final start, or does WoW: Forever leave you cold? Feel free to let us know in the comments! More about the new Classic Plus can be found here: Release, roadmap, beta – all important information about WoW Forever
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