World of Warcraft: Forever is launching. What it brings and how it differs

Azeroth returns to 2004, but this time with new stories. World of Warcraft: Forever launches on the night from Wednesday, November 4th to Thursday, November 5th, 2026, at 0:00 CET. It is a new version of WoW that keeps the game in the original vanilla Azeroth world with a level cap of 60. However, it adds over 1,000 new quests, new zones, dungeons, and a playable race. You can play it as part of your standard World of Warcraft subscription.

World of Warcraft: Twenty years in Azeroth

World of Warcraft was released in November 2004 in America and February 2005 in Europe. Blizzard followed up on the Warcraft strategy series and turned Azeroth into an online world where thousands of players meet at once. The game became a phenomenon. By 2010, it had over 12 million subscribers and remains the most famous MMORPG to this day.

Since then, eleven expansions have been released, from The Burning Crusade and Wrath of the Lich King to the current Midnight. With each one, the world moved forward, the level cap increased, and the game transformed. However, some players still longed for the original Azeroth, so in 2019, Blizzard launched WoW Classic, a faithful reconstruction of the game from before the expansions. You can follow the evolution of the Warcraft world in books from the World of Warcraft books and comics category.

What is World of Warcraft: Forever

The community has talked about it for years as "Classic+". At BlizzCon 2026, Blizzard officially introduced it under the name Forever. While Classic just copies the original game, Forever expands it. It takes place in the first year of WoW, after the events of the Forsaken Kingdom campaign for Warcraft III and before the Molten Core raid. It has its own storyline that branches off from modern WoW.

Executive producer Holly Longdale described it as a fresh start for World of Warcraft. It doesn't run instead of existing versions, but alongside them as a third permanent path.

New zones and stories

Both the Eastern Kingdoms and Kalimdor have received new and redesigned areas. New zones have been added: Mount Hyjal, Riverglades, Shen'dralas, and Zephras Isle, where new characters begin their journey. Riverglades alone offers over 150 quests for levels roughly between 35 and 45. Dalaran also returns to the map in the Alterac Mountains. If you want to get to know the original Azeroth in detail, grab the guides Exploring Azeroth: The Eastern Kingdoms and Exploring Azeroth: Kalimdor.

New race and class combinations

A new playable race is the Skyborne elves, who are divided between both factions. For the Horde, you play as Windshapers, who can be Shamans; for the Alliance, as High-Order Skyborne, who can be Mages. Existing races have received six new class combinations: Orc Mages, Troll Warlocks, Undead Paladins, Human Hunters, Gnome Priests, and Dwarf Shamans. Undead Paladins, in particular, are a small revolution for lore fans. We write about how the new Warcraft III campaign connects to Forever in the review below.

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Dungeons, raids, and PvP

Nine new dungeons await players for five-man groups, from the Hall of Thanes in Ironforge to the Shaper's Terrace in Un'Goro Crater. Raids open on December 9, 2026: the new 10-player Barrow Deeps and 20-player Hyjal Summit, and the classic 40-player Onyxia's Lair returns. For PvP, there is a new battlefield, Battle for the Darkspear Islands, where teams of fifteen players face off.

Camping, Legacy, and two graphics modes

Forever also adds new systems. When camping, you light a fire and add up to three upgrades to it with nearby players. If you sit by it for a while or craft something, you gain bonuses. The Legacy system replaces achievements and grants account-wide points for completed challenges, which you can use to get pets or mounts. You can now choose between classic models or high-resolution models for every character. Additionally, the game has received better lighting, shadows, water, and fog.

Forever, Retail, or Classic?

With Forever, you have three paths through Azeroth to choose from. All are covered by a single subscription.

The main difference is the direction of growth. Retail grows vertically, adding levels and new worlds. Forever grows horizontally: level 60 remains, and instead of more levels, new stories, abilities, and locations are added. Blizzard also drew inspiration from the Season of Discovery experiment, which tested new abilities and content in the original world within Classic.

When you first log into Forever, you will also choose between Classic and Enhanced modes. If you're not sure, Blizzard recommends Enhanced.

What's next

Blizzard calls Forever a permanent version of the game. They are not planning classic expansions that would raise the level cap and want to add content gradually. According to the roadmap released by the developers, these steps will follow:

• December 9, 2026: Opening of the Barrow Deeps, Hyjal Summit, and Onyxia's Lair raids.
• Winter 2026/27: Hardcore mode, where a character has only one life.
• Spring 2027: Two new raids, two dungeons, a new questing area, a legendary questline, and a new PvP season.
• Summer 2027: A reworked iconic raid, another new raid, two dungeons, and an expansion of the world, professions, and the Legacy system.

Dates may still shift, but the direction is clear. Forever is meant to be a version you will return to for years, not just for one season.

Azeroth beyond the screen

Before the server goes live, or when you need a break from the grind, you can immerse yourself in Azeroth in other ways. The history of the Warcraft world is summarized in the World of Warcraft: Chronicle series. The story of the Queen of the Forsaken, whose fate Forever continues, is told in the novel World of Warcraft: Sylvanas.

Fans of the original WoW will also appreciate the World of Warcraft: Ashbringer comic about the legendary sword and the Scarlet Crusade. If you prefer shorter stories, check out the Warriors of Azeroth comic, which we reviewed.

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You can also bring Azeroth to your table. The Dungeons & Dragons: World of Warcraft sourcebook adapts the world of WoW to D&D 5e rules: you'll find races like Forsaken or Tauren, over 50 monsters, and seven famous dungeons adapted for tabletop play. For evenings with your party, World of Warcraft playing cards are also a great fit.

And since long raids shouldn't be played on an empty stomach, try the recipes from the official World of Warcraft cookbook. Beer from an Alliance tankard tastes even better with it.

You can find mugs, t-shirts, and other merch in the World of Warcraft category.

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