World of Warcraft Forever is the new Warcraft MMORPG from Blizzard. We reveal everything important you need to know about the new version of WoW – such as regarding the costs, consoles, or the roadmap.
What is WoW Forever?
WoW Forever is intended to align itself with modern WoW and WoW Classic and fulfill the community’s desire for a Classic Plus variant. You can expect classic WoW with new content and meaningful adjustments that are meant to build on the strengths of Classic. The maximum level will remain at 60, but the game world will be gradually expanded. New stories are intended to take place in Azeroth; there will be no journeys to other planets like Outland, Draenor, or Argus.
The goal is to have a permanent horizontal progression where there is always something new to experience, but previously achieved accomplishments are not devalued and made useless.
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WoW Forever: Release, Preload and Costs
When is the release of WoW Forever? World of Warcraft Forever was released for us in Europe on November 5 at 00:00 midnight.
How large is the download of WoW Forever? If you do not have any version of WoW or WoW Forever on your PC, you should expect a download of at least 52.90 gigabytes. However, if you already have the normal WoW version installed, according to our editorial research, you will only need to download about 13 gigabytes.
What does WoW Forever cost? To be able to play WoW Forever, only a standard WoW subscription is required. This corresponds to costs of €13 per month if you take out a recurring, one-month subscription. Longer-term subscriptions (3 months or 6 months) reduce the price to €12 and €11 per month, respectively.
Those who wish can choose one of various bundles with prices ranging from €30 to €80. Without these, you will not have access to new content such as the race of the skyborn. You can find out more about the packages of WoW Forever here.
Was there a beta? Yes, from September 17 to October 23, 2026, there was a beta that primarily preorder customers could participate in. The beta granted limited access to the game, with the level cap only at level 30. Many contents remained unexplored due to this limitation.
The gameplay trailer introduces the features of WoW: Forever:
WoW Forever: Server Choice and Rules
How does the server choice work in WoW Forever? World of Warcraft Forever does not use realms, as known from other versions of the game. Instead, there are large mega-servers. Blizzard itself refers to WoW Forever as realm-less
.
Nevertheless, there is a separation of different player types. At the beginning, you must choose which ruleset you want to be subjected to. You will then only encounter players who have also joined this ruleset on your journey. The options are:
- Normal: The classic PvE experience of WoW Forever. You can quest and enjoy the game without worry. PvP is only activated if you actively choose to walk into a city of the opposing faction or attack a PvP target.
- PvP: Your character is marked for PvP almost everywhere, so you can be permanently attacked by characters of the opposing faction or attack them yourself.
- Roleplay: In this playstyle, you truly live out your character and try to portray them in a role-playing manner. There are stricter rules for naming and extended behavioral rules.
- Roleplay-PvP: This ruleset mixes role-playing with activated PvP.
In early 2027, a hardcore variant will also follow, where your character has only a single life. This option will not be available at launch.
Which ruleset should you choose in WoW Forever? If you want the relaxed standard experience of WoW Forever, where you can also walk away from your keyboard without worry, we recommend choosing Normal. If you prefer the thrill of PvP and a permanent, slight tension, choose PvP.
The two role-playing variants, whether PvE or PvP, we recommend only if you are truly interested in role-playing. Otherwise, fitting in with the community there can be rather difficult.
Can you switch rulesets in WoW Forever? No. The choice of ruleset is binding for each character. You cannot switch between the different play styles. Perhaps this will later be made possible through a purchasable character transfer, but at launch, the choice is binding.
WoW Forever: The roadmap for 2026 and 2027
What is the roadmap for WoW Forever? For the upcoming and ongoing year, the developers have already published a rough roadmap. Here you can see the most important dates at a glance:
The developers intend to release a major content update approximately every 3 months, one in spring, summer, autumn, and winter. This may include new raids, but also new areas, quests, dungeons, and further overhauls of features such as professions. There will be not only endgame content but also further leveling content that you can experience with secondary characters.
WoW Forever: Differences to Classic
What makes WoW Forever different from WoW Classic? The following major innovations and changes exist in WoW Forever compared to modern WoW and also to WoW Classic.
- WoW Forever may not have the look of modern WoW, but it has received a slight graphic update. You can switch between the new character models (HD) and the old classic models (SD).
- Transmogrification is available as an optional feature in WoW Forever. Everyone can activate or deactivate it individually.
- Especially the new lighting, weather effects, and impressive fog effects create a dense atmosphere.
- New zones (Mount Hyjal in an alternative version, Zephras Isle, Shen’dralas, and the Riverlands), quests, raids, recipes, dungeons, talents, reputation factions, and battlegrounds are among the new features for WoW Forever.
- With the skyborn, there is a new race. They can choose the classes Warrior, Hunter, Rogue, Druid, Shaman, and Mage, with Shamans being accessible only to the Horde and Mages only to the Alliance. Unfortunately, access to the race and the new starting area is paid.
- There should be new things to discover in every corner of the world. At all level stages, there should be new experiences and quests available.
- All classes receive extensive balancing adjustments and a few new abilities. A better balance in racial abilities is also the goal.
- Character names consist of first and last names now.
- The new raids of WoW Forever are intended for groups of 10 to 20 people.
- A feature from Burning Crusade lands in WoW Forever: Horde Paladins and Alliance Shamans.
- There are legacy talents that grant you small bonuses. These talent points are collected by your entire account, but each character can spend them individually.
- The developers plan in-game events and the provision of a hardcore ruleset.
- WoW: Forever does without the old realm system and instead creates mega-servers, but will still connect you with players of your desired language.
The goal of all innovations is to expand the classic experience and not fundamentally change it. WoW Forever is aimed at classic fans and wants to build on the strengths of the classic version without smoothing out the rough edges.
What will happen to WoW Classic? The normal WoW Classic is expected to continue existing with its current versions.
WoW Forever: Controller Support and Release on Consoles
What is known about controller support and release on consoles? WoW: Forever will provide official controller support for the first time. Whether this feature will be expanded to other WoW versions is unclear. A release of WoW Forever on consoles has not yet been announced. You can find everything about controller support here: WoW: Forever with controller – This apparently works really well
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 also find out what’s currently happening with the new version of World of Warcraft here: WoW Forever: Darkmoon Faire starts for the first time – All about card sets, world buffs, dates, and more
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