WoW Forever Stress Test on October 21 in Live Ticker – Start Time, Server Status, Duration

Thursday, 22.10.2026

03:05 AM

The stress test for WoW: Forever is officially over!

However, the beta should be back up and running soon – at least Blizzard announced that they would reopen it immediately afterwards.

In conclusion, numerous players gathered in Goldshire, danced, cheered, and shared their impressions in the chat. Many appeared quite satisfied.

Our conclusion is also positive: The test went surprisingly smoothly. Despite some initial difficulties, we were able to log in without problems after about an hour, start playing without a queue, and game for around seven hours.

With that, we bid farewell from the live ticker, good night!

02:50 AM

At around 02:45 AM, suddenly all enemies and NPCs vanished from the scene. Those still logged in used the remaining time for a quiet exploration tour or last duels.

Even in the Deepmines, where numerous goblins usually gather, an eerie silence suddenly reigned:

Wednesday, 21.10.2026

11:22 PM

The stress test currently seems to be going mostly well, although some players report that they still cannot select a realm.

Others, who are in the realms, report flickering lights/shadows. How is it going for you?

Note regarding the roleplay realm: In a Bluepost, Blizzard has previously announced that there will be no RP realm during the stress test.

10:00 PM

Everything is still running smoothly on our side, but certain enemies sometimes simply despawn while we are fighting them.

9:45 PM

In the chat of WoW: Forever, the developers just announced that they are deliberately crashing a few background services. Let’s see how stable it goes in the next few hours – currently, we are still in the game and can play normally.

8:40 PM

In the game options, you can set your preferred language and will mostly encounter players who have also made the same selection. During the stress test, the following languages are available – English is available for text and audio, but is currently missing in the social section. English-speaking individuals also report this on Reddit.

How the server selection in WoW: Forever generally works, you can find out here.

8:15 PM

So far, everything has been running smoothly for us, without stuttering or lags, and consistently around 100 FPS. How is it going for you?

The starting area is currently a true paradise for skinning, as the chat also aptly notes:

8:03 PM

So far, we are moving through the starting area quite calmly. Everyone is basically “fighting” for the mobs. It’s lively after the spawn:

And at the quest NPCs, everyone is already properly lined up, without cutting in line!

7:55 PM

Meanwhile, we can FINALLY log in normally – and even without a queue!

We quickly created a human Warlock and let’s see how the gaming experience goes now. How is it going for you? Feel free to keep us updated in the comments!

The realm selection looked like this for us:

7:18 PM

Now we are back at the realm selection, but none of the realm types are available. We’re using the short waiting time to grab some snacks and cold drinks. You too?

7:13 PM

The stress test started 13 minutes ago, and we still only get the error message.

How is it going for you?

7:05 PM

The next start gave a new error message:

6:02 PM

After our queue went by so quickly that we couldn’t even take a photo of it, we were met with the same situation as before: Realm types not available.

6:50 PM

A new attempt allows us to at least see the intro cinematic at the start of the game! There’s now also an overview of the available realms – but still with the note on all servers that these realm types are currently not available.

6:46 PM

In the Battle.net launcher, there is now a mini-update for the stress test for WoW: Forever!

6:43 PM

At the start, we were able to select a WoW account. Then we were met with the following info, so we are still waiting:

6:40 PM

Note: The previously grayed-out “Play” button for the stress test is now clickable! Let’s see what awaits us behind it.

6:00 PM

In one hour, the stress test for WoW: Forever will start!

For anyone wanting to know more about the release of the MMORPG, what new content awaits you, what the differences to Classic are, and what the roadmap looks like, here is an overview:

5:50 PM

In a new clip, World of Warcraft shows the snowy weather in Dun Morogh – and it looks really beautiful:

4:50 PM

Only about two hours left until the stress test starts!

A small reminder: Be sure to check your graphics card drivers again. Blizzard emphasizes in the English forum that you should update these before the start.

3:47 PM

Blizzard has explained in detail in the official support section how the friend codes for WoW: Forever work. Every owner of a paid version of Forever will receive access to these codes:

• The Heroic Pack grants a “Invite a Friend” code
• The Epic Pack and the Collection grant 3 “Invite a Friend” codes

The codes are expected to be sent to registered Battle.net email addresses starting on October 20. If you pass such a code on to a friend, they can redeem it for their account and thus play WoW Forever without an active subscription for a week (from November 5 to November 12, 2026).

Important:

• “Invite a Friend” codes do not grant access to the new race and their quests in the starting area.
• “Invite a Friend” codes are not game time and do not grant access to other versions of World of Warcraft.
• “Invite a Friend” codes do not grant access to the beta of WoW: Forever.

2:43 PM

For us, there are 5 clear winners in the beta of WoW: Forever. By this, we mean a handful of specializations that, in our view, benefit the most from Forever. Which classes have you tried so far and what has been your impression?