Updated November 3, 2026 for WoW Forever Launch.
The WoW Forever beta timeline ended with testing closing on October 23, 2026, following a two-day extension. The full game launches globally on November 4, 2026, at 3:00 p.m. PST, with access included in a World of Warcraft subscription or Game Time.
When did the WoW Forever beta end?
The beta shut down at 10:00 a.m. PDT; the original schedule had testing finishing on October 21. Testing lasted a little over five weeks.
The main milestones in the WoW Forever beta timeline were:
| Milestone | Date and detail |
| Testing began | September 17, 2026, after the developer Q&A; the Forever segment began at 10:30 a.m. PDT. |
| Higher beta cap | October 1: maximum level increased from 20 to 30. |
| Open stress test | October 21: every Battle.net account could participate without an upgrade pack or subscription. |
| Final celebration | The last 24 hours brought a special event to starting zones. |
| Early Name Reservation | October 27 through November 3, with an eligible upgrade purchase. |
The stress test was separate from the final shutdown: the beta continued afterward. By the end of testing, the development team was turning to priority fixes and service preparation for release.
What opened during testing?
Early dungeons and the higher level cap
The early dungeon lineup included Hall of Thanes for level 13 and above and Ruins of Lordaeron for level 15 and above. The higher cap expanded the available questing range and opened these additional dungeons:
| Dungeon | Entry-level guidance |
| Razorfen Downs | Level 25 and above. |
| Excavation Site: Wetlands | Level 26 and above. |
| Uldaman | Level 30 and above. |
To reach Excavation Site: Wetlands, follow the new road up the hill in south-central Wetlands, into the formerly inaccessible area. Its opening brought the number of testable new dungeons to three out of the nine planned for launch.
Excavation Site: Wetlands. Image: Wowhead.
Quest experience and returning content
The October beta update cut the extra experience awarded by dungeon quests by 50%, measured against their bonus above ordinary quest values. That was a reduction to the bonus, rather than a blanket halving of every dungeon quest's total experience. Certain quest rewards were retuned in the same update.
Kyle's Gone Missing! returned in Mulgore during testing. New exploration included the Riverglades and its coastal settlement, Farholde Keep, while Undead Paladins had a place in the Forsaken's story.
Visuals, small discoveries and feedback
The beta featured revised lighting, fog and water, alongside an option to retain the older visual presentation. Smaller discoveries included a snake transformation for Druids wearing the full Fang set from Wailing Caverns and a Mage-specific scroll interaction that could turn a rare Shadowfang Keep sword into a Coldflame Saber.
Bag placement produced another beta tip, with one player reporting.
Soul Shard bag fits in Reagant Bag slot – tested it myself in beta
— one player
Weather variety remained a wish for many players, who wanted snow and dust storms, while others pointed to rain they had already seen in several zones.
Bug reports were available through the in-game reporting interface during testing. The closing message thanked participants for their testing, collected data, reports and feedback.
What changed before launch?
Rulesets and layering
You choose a gameplay ruleset in place of a traditional named realm. Launch options are Normal, PvP, Roleplaying and Roleplay-PvP; the last of these was added to the launch lineup after earlier beta coverage.
PvE and PvP rulesets will remain separate at launch. The technical design divides the world by zone, keeps groups and guilds together, and handles faction balance within each ruleset. Layering improvements are planned for release.
Human and Dwarf racials
The October 26 tuning changed these Human and Dwarf bonuses:
| Racial | Final pre-launch adjustment |
| Human — Ruthless | Critical strike chance bonus reduced from 2% to 1%. |
| Human — Human Spirit | Spirit bonus increased from 5% to 10%. |
| Dwarf — Artisan's Precision | Replaces Earth Fury and adds 1% hit chance to attacks and spells; the former 2% critical damage and healing bonus was removed. |
Tauren racials
Plainsrunning now adds 2% movement speed per stack, reaching a maximum of 60%, instead of the earlier 1% per stack and 30% maximum. It no longer boosts mounted movement speed.
Endurance retains its 5% Health increase but loses its hit chance and critical damage modifiers.
Orc and Undead racials
Orcs lost Savage's 1% critical strike chance and regained Command, which increases Hunter and Warlock pet damage by 5%. Blood Fury's cooldown fell from three minutes to two minutes.
Undead Touch of the Grave had its internal cooldown reduced from 25 seconds to 15 seconds.
Skyborne racials
Wind-Blessed's haste bonus decreased from 3% to 2%. The active abilities and their location-based enhancements work as follows:
| Ability | Effect and enhanced version |
| Read Leyline | Increases Mana and Health regeneration by 50% for 15 seconds; using it at a Ley Line grants Attuned for one hour, raising the regeneration bonus to 100%. |
| Skysight | Increases movement speed by 15% for 15 seconds; using it at an elemental convergence grants Charged for one hour, raising the speed bonus to 30%. |
Read Leyline cannot be activated during Innervate, and Innervate replaces it as the stronger effect. Attuned and Charged survive death but are cleared when you enter a raid.
Name reservation and preparing your client
Early Name Reservation lets eligible upgrade owners create and customize up to three characters total across all rulesets before entering the world at launch. Names are allocated in order of creation, so a particular choice is not guaranteed. Regional opening times were:
| Region | Reservation opened |
| Europe | October 27 at 18:00 CET. |
| North America | October 27 at 1:00 p.m. PDT. |
| Korea | October 28 at 07:00 KST. |
| Taiwan | October 28 at 07:00 CST. |
Prepare the live client rather than the retired beta installation:
- Update your graphics drivers and let the Battle.net desktop app update.
- Choose World of Warcraft, then click the drop-down for selecting the version of the game that sits over the Play button.
- Choose World of Warcraft: Forever and install it.
- Launch that client, select your ruleset and create your reservation characters on the WoW account holding the upgrade.
The Skyborne Heroic Pack includes reservation, as do the Epic Pack and Warcraft Forever Collection through their included Heroic benefits. For the physical Collector's Edition, the emailed beta key does not unlock reservation; that entitlement comes from the Collection key in the box.
Collector's Edition owners waiting for delivery can purchase a qualifying digital pack, then receive its cost automatically as Battle.net credit when redeeming the physical Collection key.
What carries over, and what do you need for launch?
Beta characters, their levels and their items do not transfer, and a beta character's name does not count as a launch reservation. Progress from other versions of WoW does not transfer either. Launch opens progression through level 60, which is intended to remain the level ceiling in future updates.
The base game requires no separate box purchase beyond the subscription or Game Time requirement, while access to Skyborne and their Zephras Isle starting experience comes with an upgrade pack. The Epic Pack and Warcraft Forever Collection each add 30 days of Game Time starting at release.
The paid Skyborne bundle feels fair to some players, who compare it with races sold through earlier expansions and value the rest of the game being included with a subscription.
Invite-A-Friend Launch Codes offer eligible recipients access without a subscription or Game Time during November 4–11, 2026, PST. The Heroic Pack includes one code, while the Epic Pack and Warcraft Forever Collection include three each; delivery by email began October 20. Recipients redeem those codes through Battle.net, and the codes provide no beta access.
Raid unlocks and the 2027 roadmap
First raids: December 9
New raids unlock together on December 9, 2026, with weekly resets. The initial lineup is:
Onyxia's Lair. Image: Wowhead.
| Raid | Group size and bosses |
| Barrow Deeps | 10 players, eight bosses. |
| Hyjal Summit | 20 players, 13 bosses. |
| Onyxia's Lair | 40 players. |
These raids follow the game's release rather than opening on day one.
Hardcore and seasonal updates
The confirmed roadmap places Hardcore in Winter 2026/27, after launch, and labels the following major updates by season. Content and timing remain subject to change.
| Update window | Planned content |
| Spring 2027 | Two raids for 10- and 20-player groups, two dungeons, new quests, a new playable area, a legendary questline and a PvP season refresh. |
| Summer 2027 | A reworked iconic raid plus a new raid, two dungeons, expanded world content, profession and Legacy updates, and another PvP season refresh. |
The target cadence is roughly four months, or 17 weeks, with raid tiers and PvP seasons following that rhythm and some content opening between major patches. Dead Hardcore characters will be able to transfer to another ruleset.
Frequently Asked Questions
Did beta access require an active subscription?
No: the beta routes and the open stress test did not require a subscription or Game Time.
How did free beta access work?
You could sign up on the official Forever website for a chance to be selected; purchasing the Epic Pack or Warcraft Forever Collection instead provided guaranteed entry.
