The gnome is out of the bag! The Blizzard officials actually announced WoW Forever at BlizzCon 2026. MeinMMO explains what is behind the new Classic Plus version of World of Warcraft.
What is WoW Forever? The new, third pillar for World of Warcraft. WoW Forever is intended to be in line with modern WoW and WoW Classic and fulfill the community’s desire for a Classic Plus variant. In other words, WoW Forever is the new “Vanilla” WoW, which is supposed to take a new, alternative path at level 60.
So, it will not continue with Burning Crusade and Wrath of the Lich King. However, WoW Forever is also not a time-limited season that ends and then is gone. Instead, the developers want to expand WoW Forever in the long term with new content, while maintaining the maximum level of 60 (horizontal progression like in Guild Wars 2).
What makes WoW Forever new? The developers have revealed the following plans for the new Classic variant:
- While WoW Forever will not have the look of modern WoW, it will receive a slight graphical 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, reputations, battlegrounds, and a fresh starting area.
- A new race, the Skyborn, will also be introduced. They can choose the classes warrior, hunter, rogue, druid, shaman, and mage.
- There will be new things to discover in every corner of the world. New experiences will be available at all level ranges.
- The raids of WoW Forever will be designed for 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 include transmogrification (with a disabling 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 reworked.
- 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.
The aim of all the innovations is to expand the Classic experience without altering it. WoW Forever is intended to appeal to Classic fans and build on the strengths of the Classic version without smoothing out its edges.
The gameplay trailer introduces the features of WoW: Forever:
WoW Forever: Beta, Release, and Roadmap
When will WoW Forever be released? As with the previous Classic content of WoW, you will also need the regular WoW subscription for WoW Forever. You do not have 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 scheduled for November 4, 2026. The first content update is planned for March 2027. So you have a few months to reach level 60. Further updates are expected every four months. Annual expansions (large free updates) are also planned.
Will there be a beta beforehand? Yup! A public beta is set to run from September 17 to October 22, 2026. During the beta, participants will be able to level up to level 30.
Will there be a name reservation? Starting from October 27, 2026, interested parties will be able to create their character for WoW: Forever in advance and register a name.
What happens to WoW Classic? The regular WoW Classic will continue to exist with its current versions.
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! What else was announced at BlizzCon 2026 you can find out in our ticker about Blizzard’s in-house fair.
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