The gnome is out of the bag! The Blizzard officials have actually announced WoW Forever at BlizzCon 2026. MeinMMO explains what the new Classic-Plus version of World of Warcraft is all about.
What is WoW Forever? The new third pillar for World of Warcraft. WoW Forever is intended to complement modern WoW and WoW Classic, fulfilling the community’s desire for a Classic-Plus variant. In other words: WoW Forever is the new “Vanilla” WoW, which aims to take a new, alternative path at level 60.
So it won’t continue with Burning Crusade and Wrath of the Lich King. However, WoW Forever is also not a limited-time season that will run out and be gone. Instead, the developers want to expand WoW Forever long-term with new content while maintaining the level cap of 60 (horizontal progression like in Guild Wars 2).
MeinMMO editor and Classic fan Karsten has an opinion on WoW Forever:
What’s new in WoW Forever? The developers have revealed the following plans for the new Classic variant:
- WoW Forever is not supposed to have the look of modern WoW, but it will receive a slight graphics update.
- The planned innovations for WoW Forever include new zones (Mount Hyjal in an alternative version, Zephras Isle, Shen’dralas, and the Riverglades), quests, raids, recipes, dungeons, talents, reputation factions, battlegrounds, and a fresh starting area.
- A new race called the Skyborn will also be introduced. They can choose the classes warrior, hunter, rogue, druid, shaman, and mage. Unfortunately, access to the race and the new starting area will be chargeable.
- There will be new things to discover in every corner of the world. New experiences and quests will be available at all level ranges.
- All classes can look forward to comprehensive adjustments, new talents, and further balancing adjustments. A better balance in race abilities is also the goal.
- The raids of WoW Forever are aimed at raid groups of 10 to 20 people.
- A feature from Burning Crusade will make its way into WoW Forever: Horde paladins and Alliance shamans.
- WoW Forever will also have transmogification (with a deactivation option for those who do not want to see skins) as well as a new legacy talent system. Professions, the interface, and other systems will be revised.
- The developers plan in-game events and the provision of a hardcore rule set.
- There will be an option to switch between the old and new graphics.
- WoW: Forever will do without the old server system, but still wants to connect you with players of your desired language.
The aim of all the innovations is to expand the Classic experience rather than change it. WoW Forever is supposed to cater to Classic fans and build on the strengths of the Classic version without smoothing out its edges.
The gameplay trailer showcases the features of WoW: Forever:
WoW Forever: Beta, Release, and Roadmap
What does WoW Forever cost? Like the previous Classic content of WoW, you will also need the regular WoW subscription for WoW Forever. You do not need to purchase WoW Forever separately. Similar to WoW Classic, there will be paid bundles available.
When will WoW Forever be released? The release of the new Classic version is expected on November 4, 2026. The first content update is planned for March 2027. So you have a few months to reach level 60. More updates will follow in 4-month intervals. Annual expansions (large free updates) are also planned.
What does the roadmap look like? Here you can see the most important dates at a glance:
Will there be an early name reservation? Yes! A public beta is scheduled to run from September 17 to October 22, 2026. Participants will be able to level up to level 30 during the beta. Access to the beta is part of the paid bundles of WoW Forever. You can find all other known details about the beta here:
Will there be an early reservation of names? Starting October 27, 2026, interested parties will be able to create their character for WoW: Forever in advance and reserve a name. Access to name reservation is part of the paid bundles of WoW Forever.
What is known about controller support and release on consoles? WoW: Forever will be the first to offer official controller support. It is unclear whether this feature will be extended to other WoW versions. We do not know whether this will eventually lead to a release of WoW on Xbox and other consoles, either. You can find everything about it here: Playing WoW: Forever with a controller – This apparently works really well
What will happen to WoW Classic? The regular WoW Classic will continue to exist with its current versions.
On our YouTube channel of MeinMMO you can find a brand new video that is exclusively about WoW: Forever and the information known so far. Feel free to check it out:
The developers also refer to WoW Forever as Vanilla WoW with new adventures. How do you like this interpretation of Classic Plus? Are you excited? Let us know in the comments! You can find out what else was announced at BlizzCon 2026 in our ticker for Blizzard’s house fair.
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