The gnome is out of the bag! The Blizzard officials actually announced at BlizzCon 2026 WoW Forever. MeinMMO explains what lies behind the new Classic-Plus version of World of Warcraft.
What is WoW Forever? WoW Forever is meant to be part of modern WoW and WoW Classic, fulfilling the community’s wish for a Classic-Plus variant. You can expect the classic WoW with new content and meaningful adjustments that are supposed to build on the strengths of Classic. The maximum level will remain at 60.
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MeinMMO editor and Classic fan Karsten has an opinion about WoW Forever:
WoW: Forever – New content and differences to Classic
What makes WoW Forever new? The developers have revealed the following plans for the new Classic variant:
- WoW Forever will receive a slight graphic update, although it won’t look like the modern WoW.
- The planned innovations for WoW Forever include new zones (Mount Hyjal in an alternate version, Zephras Isle, Shen’dralas, and the Riverglades), quests, raids, recipes, dungeons, talents, reputation factions, battlegrounds, as well as 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 paid.
- 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 extensive adjustments, new talents, and additional balancing adjustments. A better balance among racial abilities is also a goal.
- The raids of WoW Forever are aimed at raid groups of 10 to 20 people.
- A feature from Burning Crusade will land in WoW Forever: Horde paladins and Alliance shamans.
- WoW Forever will include transmogification (with an option to disable it 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 are planning 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 avoids the old server system, but still aims to connect you with players of your preferred language.
The goal of all innovations is to expand the Classic experience rather than change it. WoW Forever is aimed at Classic fans and intends to enhance the strengths of the Classic version without smoothing out its rough edges.
The gameplay trailer presents the features of WoW: Forever:
WoW Forever: Beta, release, and roadmap
What does WoW Forever cost? As with previous Classic contents of WoW, you will also need the standard WoW subscription for WoW Forever. You do not need to buy WoW Forever separately. Similar to WoW Classic, there will be paid bundles. More information about the packages of WoW Forever can be found here.
When will WoW Forever be released? The release of the new Classic version is scheduled for November 4 or 5, 2026. The first content update is planned for March 2027. So you have a few months to reach maximum level 60. Further updates are to follow every four months. Annual expansions (large free updates) are also planned.
What does the roadmap look like? Here you can see the key dates at a glance:
Will there be a beta beforehand? Yes! A public beta has been running since September 17. Until October 23, 2026, at 7:00 p.m., you can check out the content up to level 30. Access to the beta is part of the paid packages of WoW Forever. A stress test will also take place for everyone on October 21 . All further known details about the beta can be found here:
Name reservation for WoW: Forever
Will there be an early name reservation? From October 27, 2026, interested parties will be able to create their character for WoW: Forever in advance and register a name. Access to name reservation is part of the paid packages of WoW Forever.
Controller support, release on consoles
What is known about controller support and release on consoles? WoW: Forever will offer official controller support for the first time. It is unclear whether this feature will be extended to other WoW versions. We also do not know if this could lead to a release of WoW on Xbox and other consoles at some point. You can find everything about this here: WoW: Forever plays with a controller – It apparently works really well
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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 fresh new video that is solely 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! Find out what else was announced at BlizzCon 2026 in our ticker for Blizzard’s house fair.
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