Everything we know
World of Warcraft: Forever was announced at the BlizzCon 2026 Opening Ceremony and What’s Next panel on Sept 12, 2026. This page summarizes what has been confirmed since; the dungeons, zones, editions, and roadmap pages carry the full detail and sources for each topic.
Setting
- Forever is set after Warcraft III: Reforged — Forsaken Kingdom and before Molten Core, in what Blizzard describes as “year one of vanilla.”
- One outlet, guided.news, reports that it is a standalone narrative branch and a permanent third pillar of WoW alongside Modern and Classic; this is not Blizzard’s own wording and is treated as single-source.
- The level cap is 60, indefinitely; there are no Outland- or Draenor-style level jumps.
- Inven Global reports from the panel that there is no flying and no level scaling; this is single-source and has not been restated by Blizzard directly.
- The phrase “time bubble” — growth from more raids and dungeons at level 60, not from raising the cap — comes from games.gg’s coverage of the panel, not from a Blizzard post, and is treated as single-source.
- Blizzard’s stated pillars are approachability, the world as protagonist, the journey, and nurturing social experiences.
New zones
Four new zones are confirmed: Mount Hyjal, Shen’dralar (spelled inconsistently across sources), Riverglades, and Zephras Isle. See the zones page for what is known about each, including which details are single-source.
Dungeons
Nine new dungeons are confirmed by name: Hall of Thanes, Ruins of Lordaeron, City of Dalaran, Whelgar’s Excavation, Drowned City, Krol’dok Stronghold, Alcaz Prison, Blackmaw Hold, and Shaper’s Terrace. Their level ranges are reported only by one press roundup and have not been confirmed by Blizzard; see the dungeons page for each range.
Raids
- Two new raids are confirmed: Barrow Deeps, a 10-player Night Elf prison cavern with three entrances, and Hyjal Summit, a 20-player raid on Mount Hyjal.
- Onyxia’s Lair remains in the game as a 40-player raid.
- New legendary items and tier sets are confirmed from both new raids.
- Raids do not unlock at launch; they open Dec 9, 2026.
PvP
- Darkspear Islands is a new 15v15 battleground off the coast of Kalimdor.
- Original battlegrounds remain available.
- Blizzard has confirmed a reworked Honor system and regular PvP season refreshes, without giving numbers.
Skyborne
Skyborne is a new neutral elven race that requires a paid pack starting at $29.99. See the Skyborne page for its classes, customization, and community reaction.
Race and class
- An Undead Paladin combination is confirmed through an official cinematic.
- One outlet reports that no new classes are being added; Blizzard has not stated this directly.
- Blizzard has confirmed an extensive talent revamp with meaningful trade-offs across classes.
Systems
- Legacy is a confirmed account-wide progression system intended to benefit players leveling additional characters, without letting them skip the leveling journey. Its exact relationship to retail’s Warbands system is not yet known.
- Camping is a confirmed system letting players craft campfires in the world that others can join and contribute to through professions, sharing buffs.
- One outlet reports that transmog is opt-in and that disabling it shows everyone’s real equipped gear; Blizzard has not restated this itself.
- A confirmed toggle switches between high-definition and the original low-definition character models, with Classic animations restored on the high-definition option.
- Official gamepad and controller support is confirmed.
Roadmap
| Date | Content |
|---|---|
| Sept 13, 10:00 a.m. PDT | Deep Dive panel; Hardcore: What’s Next panel at 4:15 p.m. PDT |
| Sept 17 – Oct 21 | Beta (level cap 30) |
| Oct 27 – Nov 3 | Character name reservation |
| Nov 4, 3:00 p.m. PST | Launch |
| Dec 9 | Barrow Deeps, Hyjal Summit, and Onyxia’s Lair open |
| Winter 2026/27 | Hardcore realms, exact date not yet announced |
| Spring 2027 | Two raids, two dungeons, a new zone, a legendary questline, and a PvP season |
| Summer 2027 | A revamped iconic raid plus one new raid, two dungeons, a PvP season, and professions and Legacy updates |
See the full roadmap page for sources on each date.
What is not yet known
- Realm count, realm types (PvP, PvE, RP), and regions.
- Whether Classic Era characters can transfer into Forever.
- The addon policy for Forever.
- PvP flagging rules and whether self-found rulesets exist.
- The exact date and regions for Hardcore realms.
- How Legacy relates to retail’s Warbands system.
- Honor system numbers.
- Full talent trees; the community has explicitly asked for a talent calculator.
- The identity of the “notorious Demon Hunter” teased for Barrow Deeps.
- Whether a raid referred to as “Timbermaw” in a Wowhead navigation title is real.
- Whether Night Elf Paladin and Dwarf Shaman combinations are officially confirmed for Forever.
- The pricing of each pack, verbatim from Blizzard’s own copy.
- Which of the retail Patch 12.2 Paladin race combinations, if any, apply to Forever.