Blizzard extends World of Warcraft: Forever beta through Friday

Blizzard extended the World of Warcraft: Forever beta through Friday, Oct. 23, 2026, with servers shutting down at 10 a.m. PT / 1 p.m. ET after an announcement on X by Associate production director Clayton Stone.

Before the original end date, players on World of Warcraft community hubs said goodbye with posts. Reddit user Roodster123 posted about leaving a pet behind, and user No_Staff_6299 wrote about a kitten. After the extension, Reddit user Thirteenera commented, “Lets pour one out for u/No_Staff_6299.”

Blizzard held an open server stress test on Oct. 21, 2026, inviting all players, including those without beta access, to push the game to its limits.

World of Warcraft: Forever launches on Nov. 4, 2026, for PC, though one source lists Nov. 3, 2026. At launch, players need an active WoW subscription or a temporary friend code, while preorder packs provide benefits. An upgrade pack is separately required for the Skyborne race, and preorders include Invite-A-Friend launch codes valid from Nov. 4 through Nov. 11, 2026.

Players joined the test by opting in on the official site or by preordering the Skyborne Epic Pack, priced at $59.99, or the Warcraft Forever Collection, priced at $79.99. Preordering either pack also gave access to the Skyborne race, the Zephras Isle starting area, plus 30 days of game time.

Blizzard will open general name reservations on Oct. 27, 2026, letting players reserve names for three characters provided they follow naming rules. Players who preorder the Skyborne Epic Pack or Warcraft Forever Collection get Early Name Reservation starting Oct. 23 and running through Nov. 3, 2026, which lets them create and customize up to three characters on a first-come, first-served basis.

More than one million characters have been made in the beta since it launched in September 2026. Blizzard developers said they were surprised by the number of people joining the temporary Classic+ mode.

Testers started at level 20, and the limit moved up to level 30 after two weeks of testing. At first, testers could level to 20 and use new class abilities, talents, profession items, and starter zones. The legacy system and dungeons such as Hall of Thanes and Ruins of Lordaeron were also available. Two weeks in, the cap opened to level 30, and testers gained Excavation Site plus more class abilities, talents, and profession items.

Progress made during the beta will not carry over to the full game, so players must roll fresh characters at launch. The test is temporary and ends before launch, so everyone starts the live game from the same point.

Eurogamer said the beta left a first impression of the upcoming MMO. Eurogamer called the extension good news for fans eager to get back to Azeroth, though sad for players who could not take time off work. IGN said fans enjoyed how similar the test content felt to the early days of World of Warcraft.

IGN said Blizzard stayed away from certain modern quality-of-life features, including shared tagging, to keep the classic feel. The outlet said Blizzard added the Kyle’s Gone Missing quest in Mulgore. IGN reported that Blizzard cracked down hard on gold selling during the test and enforced strict character-name rules.

IGN reported that players dropped campfires at starting areas to kill new characters before the opening cinematic ended. The outlet said the launch would erase all test progress, which is a couple of weeks away.

GameRant said World of Warcraft: Forever is a new take on Classic WoW that adds fresh class and race pairings, a playable race, dungeons, and raids. The title will run beside retail WoW and WoW Classic as its own release.

VICE said preorder packs guarantee entry to the beta, while other players can only sign up. VICE warned that players in the test cannot hit the top level or get into mid- and endgame content. The outlet called level 30 the ceiling for the full test window.

VICE described the game as the long-rumored Classic+ experience fans have awaited for years. The outlet noted a possibility Blizzard will raise the level cap after weeks of testing.

KitGuru said the test opened strong, pulling in thousands of players over recent weeks. The outlet warned that stress-test participants might lack time to see everything or hit the level cap, and said some content stays locked during the beta.

PCGamesN said World of Warcraft Forever runs on a realmless setup where players under PvE, PvP, and RP rules share one big server. The game lacks a combined RP-PvP bracket, and players cannot move realms later because of the sanctity of balance. Lead Game Designer Tim Jones said the team has enjoyed natural outdoor fights during the test, and that fights over limited materials in certain zones will show up more once players go past the level-30 limit. Jones said, “give people the tools for organic PvP to happen.”