World of Warcraft: Forever launches globally on 4 November 2026 at 3pm PST, which is 10am AEDT on Thursday 5 November. It comes with any WoW subscription or Game Time, and Early Name Reservation for upgrade owners opens on 27 October.
That leaves about a week to sort an edition, pick a ruleset and lock in names before everyone else does. Names are first-come, first-served and rulesets can't be swapped later, so the choices you make this week stick. Checked against Blizzard's pre-purchase, ruleset and name reservation posts.
Key dates and times
US clocks go back on 1 November, so launch day runs on PST (UTC-8), not PDT. If you're converting yourself, 3pm PST is 6pm EST, 11pm GMT and midnight CET going into 5 November. Name reservation, a week earlier, still sits on PDT.
Korea and Taiwan open name reservation at 07:00 local time on 28 October. The 9 December date for the first raids (Barrow Deeps, Hyjal Summit and Onyxia's Lair) is from Blizzard's roadmap image as reported by Warcraft Tavern, not from a Blizzard post.
Name reservation: who gets it and how it works
Early Name Reservation is a perk of the paid upgrades, not the base game. Here is what Blizzard's name reservation post confirms:
- Who: owners of the Skyborne Heroic Pack, Skyborne Epic Pack, Warcraft Forever Collection or the Collector's Edition, on the account the upgrade was bought for.
- How many: up to three characters in total across every ruleset. Two on PvP leaves one for Normal or Roleplaying.
- What you can do: create and customise those characters, choosing a ruleset for each.
- What it isn't: a head start on levelling. Play opens at launch on 4 November.
- No guarantees: names go first-come, first-served, and Blizzard says desired names cannot be guaranteed.
To get set up, open the Battle.net app, pick World of Warcraft, switch the Game Version menu above Play to World of Warcraft: Forever, install, then choose your ruleset on first launch.
Which edition do you actually need?
None, if you just want to play. Forever is included with a standard subscription or Game Time. The three upgrades add the Skyborne race, cosmetics and name reservation. Blizzard lists them as:
- Skyborne Heroic Pack: the Skyborne race and their Zephras Isle start, Early Name Reservation, the Cerulean Prideclaw mount (you still buy riding skill in-game), a transmog set, a toy, housing decor for modern WoW and one Invite-A-Friend code.
- Skyborne Epic Pack: everything in Heroic, plus 30 days of Game Time from 4 November, extra cosmetics, tabards, pets and two more Invite-A-Friend codes.
- Warcraft Forever Collection: everything in Epic, plus Warcraft III: Reforged, the new Forsaken Kingdom campaign and figurine decor. It's a limited bundle, on sale until 11 January 2027.
The beta perk on the Epic Pack and Collection is now spent, since testing has closed. The live difference is Game Time and extra codes. If you want to play Skyborne from day one, Heroic is the minimum.
Pick your ruleset before you name anyone
Forever has no realm list. You choose a ruleset, which Blizzard describes as a broad player ecosystem rather than a single realm. The launch lineup:
- Normal: the baseline. PvP only when you opt in.
- PvP: open-world combat in contested zones. One faction per account on this ruleset.
- Roleplaying: for players who want to lean into the fantasy and find like-minded adventurers.
- Roleplay-PvP: added on 22 October, live at launch and available during name reservation.
- Hardcore: death carries lasting consequences. Not at launch; Blizzard says it arrives sometime after.
Collections and Legacy Points are account-wide across rulesets. Battlegrounds can mix players from different rulesets, except Hardcore, which stays sealed off.
Your day-one checklist
- Decide on an upgrade by 27 October if you want name reservation or the Skyborne race.
- Agree a ruleset and faction with your group. PvP locks your account to one faction there.
- Install Forever in Battle.net now so launch day isn't a download queue.
- Reserve up to three names from 7am AEDT on 28 October (1pm PDT on 27 October).
- Send your Invite-A-Friend codes. They arrived by email from 20 October and give a friend launch week (4 to 11 November) with no subscription.
- Update your graphics drivers. Blizzard's own prep list starts here.
- Plan your first session. Servers open at 10am AEDT on Thursday 5 November, so book the day.
- Start fresh. Blizzard deleted stress test characters, and Blizzard Watch reports beta progress is wiped too, so everyone begins at level 1.
The fastest start to 1–60
The cap is 60 and is set to stay there for the foreseeable future, with new zones and raids added inside the 1–60 range. There's no flying and no level scaling, so a zone's level band is fixed. Run your route in level order and you skip the dead time.
| Levels | Where to go | Why |
|---|---|---|
| 1–12 | Zephras Isle (Skyborne) or your race's usual start | Skyborne get their own 1–12 questline |
| 13–20 | Hall of Thanes, Ruins of Lordaeron | First two new dungeons |
| 30–45 | The Riverglades, Shen'dralas | New zones filling the old mid-game gap |
| 60 | Mount Hyjal | Endgame zone and raid prep |
Our levelling route guide walks through the route bracket by bracket. For the full list of zones, dungeons and raids, see our BlizzCon announcement breakdown.
Skip the grind to 60
If you'd rather start at raid level, our Character Levelling is open for pre-order. It's piloted: our operator plays your character on your account, on the ruleset you choose, from your current level up to 60. Everything earned on the way stays yours.
Quick answers
Can I play WoW Forever without a subscription?
Only through an Invite-A-Friend launch code, which covers 4 to 11 November. After that you need a subscription or Game Time, the same as modern WoW and Classic.
Do I need to buy a new game for WoW Forever?
No. It's a third version inside your existing World of Warcraft account, next to modern WoW and Classic, selected from the Game Version menu in Battle.net.