Release date · last checked 31 October 2026
WoW Forever release date: 4 November 2026
World of Warcraft: Forever launched globally on 4 November 2026 at 3:00 p.m. PSTBlizzard. It is played with a WoW subscription or Game Time; the packs are optionalBlizzard.
Launch countdown · 4 November, 3:00 p.m. PST
Launch time
3:00 p.m. PST in your time zone
Converted from Blizzard’s official time. US daylight saving ended on 1 November, so the launch is at 23:00 UTC.
Los Angeles (PST)
Wed 4 Nov, 15:00
Denver (MST)
Wed 4 Nov, 16:00
Chicago (CST)
Wed 4 Nov, 17:00
New York (EST)
Wed 4 Nov, 18:00
São Paulo
Wed 4 Nov, 20:00
London (GMT)
Wed 4 Nov, 23:00
Berlin / Paris (CET)
Thu 5 Nov, 00:00
Kyiv / Athens (EET)
Thu 5 Nov, 01:00
Moscow (MSK)
Thu 5 Nov, 02:00
Dubai
Thu 5 Nov, 03:00
Singapore
Thu 5 Nov, 07:00
Sydney (AEDT)
Thu 5 Nov, 10:00
Login times Blizzard publishedBlizzard
- Americas (Pacific)Wed 4 November, 3:00 p.m. PST
- BrazilWed 4 November, 20:00 BRT
- UK and IrelandWed 4 November, 23:00 GMT
- Central EuropeThu 5 November, 00:00 CET
- TaiwanThu 5 November, 07:00
- KoreaThu 5 November, 08:00 KST
- Australia (east)Thu 5 November, 10:00 AEDT
- UTCWed 4 November, 23:00
Official dates
Every date Blizzard has published
17 September 2026
Beta opened for Skyborne Epic Pack and Warcraft Forever Collection ownersBlizzard
20 October 2026
Invite-A-Friend launch codes were scheduled to start arriving by email (one with the Heroic Pack, three with the Epic Pack or Collection)Blizzard
21 October 2026, 2:00 p.m. Pacific
Stress test open to every WoW account, about four hours (moved from 19 October). All stress-test characters, names and guilds were deleted afterwardsBlizzard
23 October 2026, 10:00 a.m. Pacific
Beta closed for good, after Blizzard extended it from 21 OctoberBlue post
27 October – 3 November 2026
Early name reservation: up to three characters across all rulesets, for owners of any upgrade pack. Opens 1:00 p.m. Pacific (Americas), 18:00 CET (Europe), 07:00 on 28 October (Korea, Taiwan)Blizzard
4 November 2026, 10:00 a.m. PST
Pre-launch maintenance from the Battle.net launcher notice: WoW Forever unavailable from 18:00 UTC until launchCommunity
4 November 2026, 3:00 p.m. PST
Global launch at 23:00 UTC. Blizzard’s login times: 20:00 BRT and 23:00 GMT on 4 November; 00:00 CET, 07:00 Taiwan, 08:00 KST and 10:00 AEDT on 5 NovemberBlizzard
4 – 11 November 2026
Invite-A-Friend codes give a friend access for launch weekBlizzard
9 December 2026
All three raids unlock at once: Barrow Deeps, Hyjal Summit, Onyxia’s LairBlizzard
Servers
Rulesets instead of realms
- No realm list: you pick a ruleset, Normal, PvP, Roleplaying or Roleplay-PvP at launch, and Hardcore after launchBlizzard.
- Each ruleset is one large community in your region. You cannot group across rulesets, and switching means a new characterBlizzard.
- Names have two parts and must be unique within your regionBlizzard.
- Oceanic players are on Oceanic data centres and share the US auction house, according to Blizzard’s 17 September live Q&A as reportedCommunity.
More detail on rulesets, Oceania and names: launch time and servers.
What Blizzard has not announced yet
Last checked 31 October 2026 against Blizzard’s news articles and the pre-purchase FAQ.
- Login queues and population caps: Not announced. Layering has been described (fewer forced world refreshes, a pop-up with a time window when you join a group, zone layering stays), but no queue limits or population caps have been published.
- Early access or a head start: None announced. Name reservation (27 October – 3 November) is the only pre-launch access to the live game.
- Beta character carry-over: Nothing is carried over: Blizzard deleted every stress-test character, name and guild before name reservation and has offered no beta carry-over. Start at level 1.
- The date for the Hardcore ruleset: Blizzard’s launch article says “sometime after launch”. Winter is only the label on the roadmap image; there is no date.
- Rulesets beyond the four at launch: Normal, PvP, Roleplaying and Roleplay-PvP (added 22 October) are confirmed for 4 November. Hardcore comes “sometime after launch”. Nothing else has been announced.
Login errors and queues
What to do if you cannot get in: errors and queues.
First 10 levels
A fast start, with beta client data.
Launch-day checklist
Presets, Oceania, name filter, layering.
Answers
Release date FAQ
When is the WoW Forever release date?
World of Warcraft: Forever launched globally on 4 November 2026 at 3:00 p.m. PST. That was 6:00 p.m. EST and 11:00 p.m. GMT on 4 November, and midnight CET, 2:00 a.m. Moscow and 10:00 a.m. Sydney on 5 November.
Do I need to buy WoW Forever?
No separate purchase is needed to play. Blizzard says WoW: Forever requires a World of Warcraft subscription or Game Time. The Skyborne packs are optional upgrades.
Is there early access or a head start?
Blizzard has not announced early access or a head start (last checked 31 October 2026). Before launch there was the beta (Epic Pack and above, closed 23 October), followed by an early name-reservation window from 27 October to 3 November.
Are there login queues in WoW Forever?
Blizzard did not announce queue limits or population caps before launch (last checked 31 October 2026). Layering has been described by the developers: fewer forced world refreshes, a pop-up with a time window when you join a group, and zone layering stays. Our login guide covers what to do if you hit a queue or a “world server down” message.
When does the WoW Forever beta end?
The beta ran from 17 September 2026 until 10:00 a.m. Pacific on 23 October, after Blizzard extended it from 21 October. A stress test open to every WoW account ran on 21 October.
What are Invite-A-Friend launch codes?
Codes that give a friend access from 4 to 11 November 2026. The Skyborne Heroic Pack includes one, and the Epic Pack and Warcraft Forever Collection three. They are emailed from 20 October.
Facts checked: 31 October 2026 · Sources: WoW: Forever launch: login times by region and what to expect, What’s Next panel recap, Pre-purchase WoW: Forever upgrades, Choose your ruleset, Create a name of your own, Carried.io: Live Q&A liveblog, Midnight and Forever (17 September), Wowhead: Blizzard working on top layering issues (WoW Forever Podcast, episode 6)
Launch day · 4 November
Before you buy anything for Forever
Levelling 1–60 takes about 150 hours of play by community estimates, and Blizzard has announced no WoW Token and no paid boost for Forever.
WoW Forever gold, leveling and accounts — tell us what you need and we'll come back with a price.