WoW Forever is Blizzard’s new, permanent version of original Azeroth. It runs alongside modern WoW and WoW Classic, and Blizzard describes it as neither a mode nor a season. It launches November 4, 2026 at 3:00 p.m. Pacific and is included with a WoW subscription or Game Time.
The rules of the world
- No flying mounts. You travel Azeroth on the ground.
- No level scaling. Zones keep their level ranges, as in original Classic.
- Leveling matters as much as endgame. More than 1,000 new quests are spread across levels 1 to 60.
- Challenge and cooperation are core goals: preparation, communication and grouping up.
New and reimagined zones
| Zone | What’s there |
|---|---|
| Mount Hyjal | Restored after Archimonde’s defeat, including Darkwhisper Gorge |
| Shen’dralas | A hidden area between Mulgore and Desolace, tied to the Shen’dralar, Eldre’Thalas, Dire Maul and the centaur tribes |
| Riverglades | A new frontier zone with more than 150 quests for roughly the mid-30s to mid-40s |
| Zephras Isle | The Skyborne starting zone, levels 1 to 12 |
Dungeons
Nine new five-player dungeons cover levels 13 to 60, from the Hall of Thanes beneath Ironforge to Shaper’s Terrace in Un’Goro Crater. See the new dungeons guide for levels and locations.
Raids
All three raids open on December 9, 2026 and reset weekly.
| Raid | Size | Bosses |
|---|---|---|
| Barrow Deeps | 10 players | 8 |
| Hyjal Summit | 20 players | 13 |
| Onyxia’s Lair | 40 players | Onyxia (needs attunement) |
Hyjal Summit comes with new tier sets and a legendary reward Blizzard hasn’t revealed yet. See raids and Onyxia attunement.
PvP
Darkspear Islands is a new 15-versus-15 battleground for levels 30 to 60, off the coast of Dustwallow Marsh. Teams hold capture points and run a flag to reach 2,000 points. See the Darkspear Islands guide. A Field of Honor PvP Season’s Journey also awards Legacy Points.
No realms
You choose a ruleset (Normal, PvP, Role-Play, later Hardcore) instead of a realm, and characters have two-part names. See rulesets and names.
New systems
- The Skyborne: a new race that can join either faction. See races and racials.
- New race and class combinations, such as Undead Paladins and Dwarf Shamans.
- Legacy system: account-wide points and perks that reward leveling alts and professions. See the Legacy guide.
- Camping: light a campfire in the world, and other players can add features from their professions and share the buffs. See camping and professions.
- Dual Specialization at level 40, and talents changed at a class trainer in a major city.
- Class updates for all nine classes. See what changed from Classic.
Options
- Transmog is opt-in. See gear, stats and transmog.
- Visual presets: modern or Classic look.
- Character models: HD or SD, with Classic animations restored for HD models.
- Official gamepad support.
- Refreshed world visuals that keep the original art style, such as rivers in Elwynn Forest, mist in Darkshore and moonlight in Ashenvale.
Coming later
Blizzard plans more raids, dungeons, PvP updates, world content and level 1 to 60 quests, a revamped iconic raid, and the Hardcore ruleset after launch. See the launch timeline for what has dates.