WoW Forever release date and launch time

Launch facts at a glance

Checked against Blizzard's announcements on October 24, 2026. Access is included with a World of Warcraft subscription or Game Time; the upgrade editions add Skyborne, name reservation and other extras.

What	Official information	Source
Launch	November 4, 2026, 3:00 p.m. PST, one global start	Upgrade announcement, panel recap
Level cap	60	Main announcement
Who can play	Any account with a subscription or Game Time	Main announcement
Skyborne race	Skyborne Heroic Pack or a higher edition	Main announcement
Early name reservation	October 27 – November 3; up to three characters across all rulesets	Name reservation article
Invite-A-Friend launch codes	Emailed from October 20; usable November 4–11	Upgrade announcement
30 days of Game Time	Added from November 4 with the Epic Pack and Collection	Upgrade announcement
New raids	December 9, 2026	Panel recap
Beta	Closed, confirmed October 23	Kaivax, October 23
Preload	No separate preload date found in Blizzard's announcements; the name reservation steps already install the World of Warcraft: Forever game version	Name reservation article

Blizzard has not said that beta characters or beta progress carry over. Plan your live characters from scratch.

Launch time in your region

The upgrade announcement and the panel recap give 3:00 p.m. PST on November 4. One sentence in the main announcement says PDT, but US daylight saving time ends on November 1, so November 4 is on Pacific standard time. The table converts that single global start; Forever Atlas did the conversion.

Where you play	Launch
US Pacific (PST)	November 4, 15:00
US Eastern (EST)	November 4, 18:00
UK (GMT)	November 4, 23:00
Central Europe (CET)	November 5, 00:00
Taipei / Beijing (UTC+8)	November 5, 07:00
Seoul (KST)	November 5, 08:00
Sydney (AEDT)	November 5, 10:00

If Blizzard publishes a separate regional schedule or a launch-day maintenance notice, that notice takes precedence over this conversion.

Name reservation: October 27 – November 3

Early reservation is for accounts that bought the Skyborne Heroic Pack, Skyborne Epic Pack or Warcraft Forever Collection. The benefit applies only to the WoW account the upgrade was bought for. Each account can reserve up to three characters in total across all rulesets: two PvP characters leave one slot for Normal or Role-Play. Names are first come, first served.

Region	Reservation opens
North America	October 27, 1:00 p.m. PDT
Europe	October 27, 18:00 CET
Korea	October 28, 07:00 KST
Taiwan	October 28, 07:00 (Taipei)

Blizzard's article gives no closing hour for November 3. Its steps are:

1. Update your graphics drivers and the Battle.net desktop app.
2. Select World of Warcraft, then choose World of Warcraft: Forever in the Game Version menu above Play and select Install.
3. When installation finishes, select Play and choose your ruleset.
4. Create up to three characters with the names you want.

Agree on a ruleset with your group before the window opens; the ruleset guide compares Normal, PvP and Role-Play.

Two-part names: prepare the complete combination

Blizzard’s September 21 naming guide says every Forever character has two name parts. The complete two-part name must be unique within your region; sharing a first name with another player is possible if the full combinations differ. The rule applies across the larger, realmless structure, not just one ruleset or realm.

Prepare a first choice and a few complete-name alternatives for each character. Blizzard says restricted words, impersonation and repeated-character patterns may be rejected, including when a prohibited expression is split across the two parts. Do not assume that moving a word into the second slot bypasses the policy.

If you prefer one visible name in the game world, Blizzard gives Escape → Options → Nameplates → My Secondary Name as the display toggle. The second name still appears in chat. This is a display preference, not a way to make the complete name non-unique. Check the current client for the exact localized menu labels.

Before launch day: a short checklist

1. Account: confirm the WoW account has an active subscription or Game Time on November 4. An upgrade purchase applies only to the account it was bought for.
2. Names: if you own an upgrade, reserve names when your region opens, using the complete two-part combinations you prepared.
3. Client: install the World of Warcraft: Forever game version in Battle.net ahead of time. The beta client was a separate entry under In Development.
4. Character: choose a race and class with the race and class table, then save a talent plan in the talent calculator.
5. First evening: use the getting started guide for starting zones, training and your first dungeon, and the systems guide for Camping, Legacy and controls.
6. Friends: an Invite-A-Friend launch code from an upgrade is usable November 4–11 and has eligibility restrictions; check the email that delivered it.

Open questions such as character transfers stay in community questions until Blizzard answers them.

Beta archive: September 17 – October 23

The sections below record the WoW Forever beta. They remain for reference and for links from older guides; they do not describe the live game. The beta began on September 17, 2026. Blizzard's opening program started at a level 20 cap, the October 1 development notes raised it to 30, and Kaivax confirmed the closure on October 23.

Final beta week: stress test and closure

Kaivax's October 20 notice moved the beta closure to October 23, 10:00 a.m. PDT, replacing the earlier October 21 end date. Converted by Forever Atlas, that was October 24, 01:00 in Taipei / Beijing (UTC+8).

The same notice scheduled a regional stress test on October 21, 14:00–18:00 PDT (Taipei: October 22, 05:00–09:00). Any WoW account could join without an active subscription by selecting World of Warcraft: Forever Stress Test under In Development in Battle.net. Blizzard said all stress-test characters and names would be deleted when the test shut down, after which the beta reopened until it closed. Kaivax's October 23 post confirmed the closure.

October known issues: check the dated symptom

Blizzard Entertainment · Kaivax · October 8 additions and October 1 additions · checked October 10. These were beta-client notes; recheck any symptom against the live client and its own known-issues post.

Symptom	Dated official note	Your next check
Skyborne Druid cat-form or other creature textures look unfinished	October 8: some texture updates will arrive in a future build; bear and travel forms have updated textures	Record the form and build; do not treat every old texture as a failed installation.
A Hunter pet's critical chance does not increase on the character sheet after Ferocity	October 8: a visual bug only	Do not reset the talent solely because the displayed stat is unchanged.
Some profession-window icons appear broken	October 8: listed as a known issue	Record which profession and icon are affected.
Switching gamepad UI changes the edit-mode layout	October 1: switching resets the active layout to the default preset	Save a reference screenshot of your layout before switching modes.
A close target parries or blocks an attack from behind	October 1: a known issue when too close; the note suggests more distance	Compare position and distance before assuming your direction was wrong.
Back-to-back spell casts have delayed preparation effects or sounds	October 1: the next precast effects wait for the first cast to finish	Separate the visual or sound cue from a claim about cast time or damage.

The September 18 list is older context, including character-friend and class-interaction reports. A historical “fixed in the next build” label is not a fresh status check.

October 6 fixes: chest items and transport disconnects

Official notice, October 6 Pacific time (October 7 in UTC+8), checked October 8. Kaivax's restart announcement describes a fix for quest items not restocking in chests. A follow-up lists occasional disconnects while riding an elevator or transport and join/leave-guild errors among the fixes.

If a similar problem appears in the live game, record the exact quest, object or vessel and the step where it happened. Keep a present-but-hard-to-see object separate from missing loot: the addon visibility checks address only the former. The boat troubleshooting table separates a route mismatch from a disconnect.

October 1 update: level 30 and more dungeons

Official development notes, published October 1 and checked October 8. Blizzard's dated update lists a level cap of 30, Excavation Site in Wetlands at 26–31, Razorfen Downs at 25+ and Uldaman at 30+. These were beta testing ranges, not minimum entry rules. The newer October 20 launch briefing lists Excavation Site at 24–29; keep the dated contexts separate.

The update also changed dungeon-quest bonus XP: the extra XP beyond normal quest rewards was reduced by 50%, not all quest XP. Do not use older first-run reward totals to promise repeat-run efficiency. Our Ragefire readiness sheet separates journal progress from a repeat run.

PAX Aus: October 9 presentation schedule archive

This published broadcast window has passed. The schedule below preserves Blizzard's September 29 announcement; it does not establish what was demonstrated in the talk. Blizzard's PAX Aus notice scheduled Holly Longdale's opening Storytime and Clay Stone's Forever dungeon deep dive on Warcraft Twitch and PAX Twitch.

Published broadcast window	Date and time
Pacific daylight time	October 8, 18:00–19:30 PDT
Eastern daylight time	October 8, 21:00–22:30 EDT
British summer time	October 9, 02:00–03:30 BST
Australian eastern daylight time	October 9, 12:00–13:30 AEDT
Taipei / Beijing, converted by Forever Atlas	October 9, 09:00–10:30 UTC+8

The notice did not name the dungeon or provide new entrance, level or loot data. For current sourced dungeon information, use the destination directory and dungeon departure checklist.

Build 69977: September 23 client update

In a staff update titled “Beta Client Update – September 22”, posted September 23, Kaivax announced WoW Forever 1.60.1 Build 69977. This is an older beta patch record, not the launch build. The post lists fixes for some Mac display and stability issues, more reliable character-select navigation when launching with an active gamepad, and interaction with quest-starting items using a gamepad.

If you are checking…	What build 69977 changed	What still needs checking
Mac display or stability	Blizzard reported some fixes.	Do not infer every shadow, tint or performance report is fixed. Record hardware, graphics settings and how long the symptom takes to appear.
Gamepad at character selection	Navigation should work more properly when the game launches with the gamepad active.	Retest the specific device and input path; do not assume all controller menus are complete.
A quest-starting item	Item interaction became available on gamepad.	Separate it from bank, auction-house, equipment or map controls; the update did not announce fixes for those.

The controller feedback thread includes player reports about bags, gear sets and map quest hover. Those are community observations, not part of Blizzard’s 69977 fix list. The September 24 weekly development notes followed; our map troubleshooting section records their minimap and world-instance issues.

How beta access worked

Opt-in gave a chance, not a guarantee. Blizzard’s official Forever page offered opt-in selection, while some editions included access. The community’s beta access discussion often mixed those two routes together.

Access route	What the official information established
Beta opt-in	A chance to be selected, not guaranteed access
Active subscription / game time	Access to the base game at launch; not automatic beta selection
Heroic upgrade	Skyborne and Zephras Isle, plus early name reservation; no included beta benefit listed
Epic / Collection digital upgrade	Included beta access and the lower edition’s character benefits

Sources: official game page, checked October 10, and digital upgrade details, published September 12.

The beta required access, not game time. Blizzard Support, checked September 17, made that distinction explicit. Digital Epic/Collection purchases and selected opt-ins received access automatically; the physical Collector’s Edition delivered beta redemption instructions by email. The live game uses the normal subscription or Game Time rule above.

How the beta was installed

In Battle.net, the beta entry was World of Warcraft → Game Version → In Development → World of Warcraft: Forever Beta → Install. Blizzard noted that eligible digital-bundle access could take up to 30 minutes to appear and might require a launcher restart. Official instructions.

Situation during the beta	The check that applied
Opted in but no invitation	Whether Blizzard selected the account; opt-in alone was not a guarantee.
Edition included access	Whether the entitlement belonged to the WoW account in use.
Physical Collector’s Edition	The emailed redemption instructions, not the parcel’s arrival date.
Installed but could not log in	Entitlement and service notices, checked separately.

For a missing client, Blizzard’s support article suggested restarting the app, confirming the signed-in account and checking that a digital order was marked Complete. For the live game, use the World of Warcraft: Forever entry described in the name reservation steps.

September 17 opening week: historical program

The official opening program, checked September 21, listed:

Opening week	Announced content
Starting experience	Skyborne and Zephras Isle
Hall of Thanes	Levels 13–18
Ruins of Lordaeron	Levels 15–20
Outdoor content	Zones up to level 20

That announcement also planned later areas, a battleground and a Server Slam without dating the latter. The Q&A timing brief preserves the pre-opening schedule. The full reveal in the destination directory is broader than the opening-week program.