Blizzard has officially announced World of Warcraft: Forever, a new permanent version of World of Warcraft that expands the original vanilla-era Azeroth with new zones, quests, dungeons, raids and a new playable race. Revealed during BlizzCon 2026, Forever will launch globally on November 4, 2026, with a beta beginning September 17. Blizzard describes it as a third World of Warcraft experience that will exist alongside Modern WoW and Classic rather than replacing either one.
Forever is set after the events of Warcraft III: Reforged – Forsaken Kingdom and before Molten Core, returning players to the original continents with a level cap of 60. Blizzard says the goal is to build outward from the earliest version of Azeroth while continuing to add new stories and experiences over time. That makes Forever broadly similar to the long-requested “Classic+” concept, but Blizzard is positioning it as a permanent branch of World of Warcraft rather than a temporary seasonal experiment.
The scale of the launch content is substantial. Blizzard says World of Warcraft: Forever will contain more than 1,000 new quests spread across the level 1-60 experience, alongside three new zones, nine new dungeons and two new raids. The newly revealed areas include Mount Hyjal, Zephras Isle and The Riverglades, while Blizzard is also revisiting existing areas of the original world with updated content and additional secrets.
Forever will introduce the Skyborne as a new neutral playable race. The elven race will receive its own starting experience on Zephras Isle, while Blizzard is also expanding existing race and class combinations across the game. Additional skills, talents and reputations are being added as part of the wider overhaul, giving the project changes that go beyond simply adding more quests to the original World of Warcraft map.
Blizzard is also modernizing the presentation without completely abandoning the visual identity of vanilla WoW. The game will support updated lighting and global illumination, volumetric particle effects, a new water renderer and real-time shadows. A character presentation toggle will allow players to switch between SD and HD models, giving those who prefer the original visual style an option to retain a more traditional appearance while still playing the expanded version of Azeroth.
The new content extends into PvP as well. A new battleground set on the Darkspear Islands is planned, while the broader progression structure will remain centered on the original level 60 cap. Blizzard has emphasized that Forever is intended to keep growing through future updates, allowing the studio to explore storylines and locations that were never developed during World of Warcraft’s original era.
Access to World of Warcraft: Forever will be included with a normal World of Warcraft subscription or Game Time when it launches on November 4. Blizzard is also selling optional upgrade packages, including the Skyborne Heroic Pack and Skyborne Epic Pack. The Heroic Pack includes early access to the Skyborne race and its Zephras Isle starting experience, cosmetic items, a mount and early name reservation, while the Epic Pack adds beta access from September 17, 30 days of Game Time and additional cosmetics.
A limited-time Warcraft Forever Collection is also available and bundles the Epic Pack content with Warcraft III: Reforged and the newly released Forsaken Kingdom campaign. Blizzard says Forsaken Kingdom directly bridges the fall of Lordaeron with the era depicted in Forever, giving the two releases a connected narrative timeline. A physical World of Warcraft: Forever Collector’s Edition is also being sold separately through the Blizzard Gear Store while supplies last.
World of Warcraft: Forever arrives at a time when Blizzard is maintaining several different versions of Azeroth simultaneously. Modern World of Warcraft is continuing through Midnight and the upcoming Eclipse update, while Classic remains its own parallel experience. Forever gives Blizzard a separate space to expand the original world without being bound to the exact historical progression of Classic or the current narrative and systems of Modern WoW.
Blizzard plans to reveal more about the project’s systems and design philosophy during a dedicated World of Warcraft: Forever deep-dive panel on September 13. With the beta starting only days later and the full launch scheduled for November 4, players will not have to wait long to see how extensively Blizzard has reworked and expanded vanilla Azeroth.
