The WoW Forever release date is November 4, 2026, at 3:00 p.m. PST. That is 23:00 UTC, and it is one global launch: Blizzard’s What’s Next panel recap says World of Warcraft: Forever “launches globally” at that time, and no separate regional hours have been published. In Europe and Asia, that means the night of November 4 or the morning of November 5.
Launch day comes at the end of a busy five weeks. The beta closes on October 21, Invite-A-Friend codes go out from October 20, Early Name Reservation runs October 27 to November 3, and the first raids unlock on December 9. Below: the launch time in your time zone, every date in order, what the game contains on day one, and what Blizzard hasn’t announced yet.
WoW Forever Launch Times by Region
WoW Forever unlocks at 23:00 UTC on November 4 for every region at once. The table converts that moment to local time. Daylight saving time has already ended in both the US (November 1) and Europe (October 25) by launch day, which is why Blizzard’s PST time is correct and Europe is on standard time too.
| Region | Time zone | Local launch time |
|---|---|---|
| US West | PST (UTC-8) | Nov 4, 3:00 p.m. |
| US Mountain | MST (UTC-7) | Nov 4, 4:00 p.m. |
| US Central | CST (UTC-6) | Nov 4, 5:00 p.m. |
| US East | EST (UTC-5) | Nov 4, 6:00 p.m. |
| Brazil (Sao Paulo) | BRT (UTC-3) | Nov 4, 8:00 p.m. |
| UK, Ireland, Portugal | GMT (UTC+0) | Nov 4, 11:00 p.m. |
| Central Europe | CET (UTC+1) | Nov 5, 12:00 a.m. (midnight) |
| Eastern Europe | EET (UTC+2) | Nov 5, 1:00 a.m. |
| Moscow, Istanbul | UTC+3 | Nov 5, 2:00 a.m. |
| India | IST (UTC+5:30) | Nov 5, 4:30 a.m. |
| Taiwan, Singapore | UTC+8 | Nov 5, 7:00 a.m. |
| Korea, Japan | UTC+9 | Nov 5, 8:00 a.m. |
| Australia East (Sydney) | AEDT (UTC+11) | Nov 5, 10:00 a.m. |
| New Zealand | NZDT (UTC+13) | Nov 5, 12:00 p.m. |
One small source conflict: Blizzard’s “Carve a New Path” news hub lists the launch as 3:00 p.m. PDT, while the pre-purchase announcement and the panel recap say PST. Pacific Daylight Time ends on November 1, so on November 4 the Pacific time zone is on PST. We read PDT as a typo. If it weren’t, launch would be one hour earlier (22:00 UTC).
What Blizzard hasn’t said: whether servers open exactly on the minute, whether there’s a launch-day maintenance window, and whether login queues are expected.
Full WoW Forever Timeline: Beta End to First Raids
Every date below comes from Blizzard’s pre-purchase announcement and the official 2026 to 2027 roadmap shown at BlizzCon. Dates are Pacific time.
| Date | What happens | Who it affects |
|---|---|---|
| Now to October 21 | Beta (last full day of testing is October 21) | Epic Pack and Collection owners, invited opt-ins |
| From October 20 | Invite-A-Friend Launch Codes sent by email | Anyone who bought an upgrade pack (not gifts) |
| October 27 to November 3 | Early Name Reservation: create and customize up to 3 characters | Any upgrade pack owner |
| November 4, 3:00 p.m. | Global launch, level cap 60 | Everyone with a subscription or Game Time |
| November 4 | 30 days of Game Time added | Epic Pack and Collection owners |
| November 4 to 11 | Invite-A-Friend codes let friends play without a subscription | Invited friends |
| December 9 | Raids unlock: Barrow Deeps (10), Hyjal Summit (20), Onyxia’s Lair (40) | Level 60 players |
| Winter (no date) | Hardcore ruleset launches | Hardcore players |
| Spring 2027 | 2 new raids, 2 new dungeons, new questing area, legendary questline, PvP season | Everyone |
| Summer 2027 | Revamped iconic raid, new raid, 2 new dungeons, world content, profession and Legacy updates | Everyone |
The roadmap slide shows the beta as “Sept 17 to Oct 22”, while the beta announcement calls October 21 “the last full day of testing”. Both can be true if the servers shut down on October 22. Plan on October 21 as your last real play session.
What Happens Between the Beta and Launch
WoW Forever has a two-week gap between the end of the beta on October 21 and launch on November 4, and nothing carries over from the beta characters. Here is what fills that gap:
- October 21 to 26: nothing to play. Blizzard says the beta ends as it “begins final preparations” for launch. No stress test or Server Slam is scheduled after this date. The Server Slam, a few hours when anyone can log in to the beta, is promised for some point before October 21, but as of September 28 it has no date.
- October 27 to November 3: name reservation. Upgrade pack owners can create and customize up to three characters. Names are first come, first served, and Blizzard says a desired name can’t be guaranteed. You can’t play these characters until launch. What each pack costs and whether the reservation alone is worth $30 is covered in our WoW Forever editions comparison.
- Before November 4: the client. Blizzard has not announced a pre-download or pre-install date for the live Forever client, nor its download size. The beta installs as its own entry in the Battle.net app’s Game Version menu, so expect live Forever to appear there as well. That is our expectation, not a Blizzard statement.
If you don’t own an upgrade pack, your first chance to create a character is launch itself, at the same moment as everyone else.
Is There Early Access for WoW Forever?
No. No WoW Forever edition includes early access or a head start on playing. The Skyborne Epic Pack and Warcraft Forever Collection include beta access, and every pack includes Early Name Reservation, which lets you create characters but not play them. Everyone enters the live game at 3:00 p.m. PST on November 4.
Some guide sites list a “3-day early access” for the Epic Pack. Blizzard’s pre-purchase announcement lists no such perk, and the official roadmap has no early access entry. It is most likely a mix-up with retail expansion editions, which usually did include early access.
What’s in WoW Forever at Launch
WoW Forever launches with a level cap of 60 and the full 1 to 60 journey across the Eastern Kingdoms and Kalimdor. According to the What’s Next recap, that includes more than a thousand new quests, new regions (Mount Hyjal, Shen’dralas, the Riverglades and the Skyborne starting zone Zephras Isle), and new race and class combos such as Undead Paladins and Dwarf Shamans.
- Dungeons: nine new dungeons, including the Hall of Thanes (13 to 18) and Ruins of Lordaeron (15 to 20). Blizzard hasn’t stated that all nine open on November 4, but none of them is listed as a later unlock on the roadmap.
- Raids: none are announced for day one. The first three, including a 40-player Onyxia’s Lair, arrive on December 9, five weeks after launch. The game is set before Molten Core, and the “revamped iconic raid” planned for summer 2027 hasn’t been named.
- PvP: the new 15 vs 15 Darkspear Islands battleground has been announced, but Blizzard hasn’t said whether it is available at launch.
- Systems: the Legacy System, Camping, transmog, HD and SD character models and gamepad support are part of the game. The Legacy cap is 16 spendable points at launch.
In practice, the first five weeks are about leveling, dungeons and professions. A guild that wants to be ready for the December 9 raids has 35 days to get a roster to 60 and geared from dungeons.
No Realm List: Rulesets at Launch
WoW Forever has no realm selection screen. According to Blizzard’s ruleset announcement, you pick a ruleset instead: Normal, PvP or Roleplaying at launch, with Hardcore following later. There is no launch-night realm list to study, but there are two choices to make before November 4:
- Pick your ruleset with your group. You can only group, run dungeons and raid within the same ruleset, and characters can’t move freely between them.
- On PvP, pick one faction. Once you create an Alliance character on the PvP ruleset, you can’t create a Horde one there, and vice versa. Blizzard may also temporarily limit character creation for one faction to keep populations balanced.
- Set your language. The Preferred Online Language option (Options, then Languages and Social) groups you with players of the same language. It is account-wide and has a 24-hour cooldown.
Still deciding on a race? Our Skyborne race guide covers the one race you have to buy, and which classes it suits.
FAQ
What time does WoW Forever launch?
WoW Forever launches on November 4, 2026, at 3:00 p.m. PST (6:00 p.m. EST, 23:00 UTC). In Central Europe that is midnight going into November 5, and in Sydney 10:00 a.m. on November 5.
Is WoW Forever launching at the same time in every region?
Yes. Blizzard describes it as a global launch at a single time. Players in Europe, Asia and Oceania get in on the local date of November 5.
Can I pre-load WoW Forever?
As of September 28, Blizzard has not announced a pre-load or pre-install date for the live WoW Forever client.
Do I need to buy WoW Forever?
No. WoW Forever is included with a World of Warcraft subscription or Game Time. Upgrade packs are optional and add the Skyborne race, name reservation and cosmetics.
When does the WoW Forever beta end?
October 21, 2026 is the last full day of beta testing, according to Blizzard. The official roadmap slide shows October 22 as the end date.
Sources: Blizzard’s What’s Next panel recap and roadmap, Blizzard’s pre-purchase announcement, Carve a New Path with World of Warcraft: Forever, Blizzard’s beta announcement, Blizzard’s ruleset announcement, raid sizes as compiled by classicwow.gg, and the Icy Veins roadmap (the source of the early access claim we dispute). Key art and roadmap: Blizzard Entertainment.