Blizzard unveils World of Warcraft Forever
After months of rumors, speculation, and leaks, Blizzard Entertainment confirmed that World of Warcraft Classic Plus – the community-suggested name for a remake of the classic Warcraft MMO – does indeed exist. The project’s official name is World of Warcraft Forever, and it will be released very soon, as Blizzard announced at the BlizzCon 2026 opening ceremony.
Holly Longdale, Executive Producer and Vice President of World of Warcraft, introduced World of Warcraft Forever as a version of the game that is “friendly, familiar, and new.” Forever will focus on the world as the main character, “a place dedicated to the community and ensuring it is nurtured,” Longdale said.
“World of Warcraft Forever will be easily accessible and playable, yet so deep that it will remain captivating forever. There’s no rush here: the journey is the destination.”
What is World of Warcraft Forever?
World of Warcraft Forever isn’t necessarily the original, amber-enshrined MMO, but rather follows the core principles of World of Warcraft Classic and exists in a kind of “time loop” set in the first year of the original World of Warcraft. Forever will retain the level cap of 60 for the foreseeable future. However, Blizzard plans to expand WoW Forever with new content, all of which will be set within the time loop and adhere to the design philosophy of that version of the game.
Blizzard states that the new content being developed for World of Warcraft Forever will include the following:
- Three new zones
- Several revised existing zones
- Over 1,000 new quests
- A new battleground for PvP: the Darkspear Isles
- Nine new dungeons
- New professions and reputations
- Updated world graphics
- Two new max-level raids for groups of 10 and 20 players respectively.
- Sky Elves, a new race whose home is located in one of the new zones of WoW Forever.
According to Blizzard, the new content is not only designed for level 60 players, but is intended to offer new gaming experiences to players of all levels.
When will World of Warcraft Forever be released?
World of Warcraft Forever is already playable at BlizzCon 2026, and the beta for the MMO starts next week on September 17th. The wait for the full game isn’t long now – it officially releases on November 4th.
World of Warcraft was released in 2004. Since then, the game has evolved tremendously, with eleven expansions and numerous game-changing updates. The latest expansion, Midnight, is receiving its own update called Eclipse, which Blizzard showcased in more detail at BlizzCon. Many World of Warcraft players have remained loyal to the game and have supported Blizzard for over two decades.
However, a large part of the community longs for the simpler beginnings of WoW. Blizzard granted these fans a wish in 2019 with the release of World of Warcraft Classic, offering a “vanilla” gaming experience. But like the original game, Classic has also evolved, with classic versions of the expansions The Burning Crusade, Wrath of the Lich King, Cataclysm, and Mists of Pandaria.
Soon, World of Warcraft fans will be able to turn back time – seemingly for good – and enjoy the classic MMO experience forever.
