World of Warcraft: Forever is Classic+, launching November 4

Blizzard announced World of Warcraft: Forever at the BlizzCon 2026 opening ceremony, its answer to years of Classic+ rumours: vanilla World of Warcraft, in Blizzard's words, "really plussed up". On stage Blizzard gave the launch date as November 4, 2026.

The reveal cinematic reprises the Dwarf Hunter and his bear from the original 2004 trailer. This time they travel beyond Khaz Modan through familiar Warcraft locations, including a Dalaran no longer sealed under its dome of energy. The cinematic also shows an Undead Paladin wielding the Light, and Mount Hyjal with the bones of Archimonde on its slopes.

Blizzard describes Forever as a world that never ends, run by its own team alongside the modern and Classic teams, with Azeroth itself as the main character. The story sits in year one of vanilla, after Warcraft III's Forsaken Kingdom and before Molten Core. Players level to 60 through new stories and stay there: no racing ahead, with progression coming from new content instead of new level caps.

The feature list given on stage: new zones such as Mount Hyjal, the Zephras Isle and the Riverglades plus expanded original zones; new dungeons and new 10 and 20 player raids; new skills and talent trees; new race and class combinations including the Undead Paladin; the Skyborn playable race; a new battleground in the Darkspear Islands; more than 1,000 new quests, items and rewards; new profession content and reputations; updated world visuals with a toggle between the original SD and updated HD graphics.

Pricing and how Forever relates to the existing Classic realms were not covered. The Warcraft What's Next panel that follows the ceremony and Sunday morning's Deep Dive panel carry the detail.