TheWoWDBBlizzCon 2026 · After the show
World of Warcraft: Forever requires newer GPU architectures at launch
World of Warcraft
Blizzard confirms World of Warcraft: Forever will drop support for GPUs based on older graphics architectures, requiring AMD Graphics Core Next 1, NVIDIA Maxwell or Intel Skylake or newer.
Key facts
- World of Warcraft: Forever will no longer support GPUs based on certain older graphics architectures
- Minimum supported architectures: AMD Graphics Core Next 1 (2012), NVIDIA Maxwell (2014), Intel Skylake (2015)
- Blizzard says the vast majority of players already use compatible hardware
- The change supports RGBA16F UAV support in compute shaders, a GPU feature introduced around 2012
- Full minimum system requirements are available on the Battle.net Shop
- Announcement published September 17, 2026
New GPU requirements
Blizzard has announced that when World of Warcraft: Forever launches, GPUs based on certain older graphics architectures that fall well below the game's minimum hardware requirements will no longer be supported. Players will need a GPU based on one of the listed microarchitectures or newer.
In general, this means a graphics card from a newer generation is required. Players with older cards need to upgrade their GPU before playing World of Warcraft: Forever.
- AMD Graphics Core Next 1 (2012)
- NVIDIA Maxwell (2014)
- Intel Skylake (2015)
Checking your hardware
The vast majority of World of Warcraft players are already using compatible hardware. Players who are unsure which GPU is in their computer can check in Windows.
As a general reference, example compatible cards include the AMD Radeon HD 7850 from 2012, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 9xx and the GTX 750 and 750 Ti from 2014, and Intel HD Graphics 530 from 2015. Blizzard notes that these GPUs are still well below the minimum requirements for the game.
Example unsupported cards include the AMD Radeon HD 6950 from 2010, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 760, 770 and 780 and the GTX 8xxM from 2014, and Intel HD Graphics 6000 from 2015. Players using a GPU based on older microarchitectures will need to upgrade before playing World of Warcraft: Forever.
- Open Settings, select System, then Display, and choose Advanced display to view the GPU's make and model.
- Open Device Manager and expand Display adapters to see the installed graphics hardware.
Why these features are required
World of Warcraft: Forever introduces a new visual look to the game. To support that visual update, Blizzard relies on a feature introduced to GPUs around 2012: RGBA16F UAV support in compute shaders.
Blizzard says the change helps support the updated visual look of World of Warcraft: Forever and provides a more consistent experience for players. The full minimum system requirements can be viewed on the Battle.net Shop.
Source: Blizzard: World of Warcraft: Forever GPU Requirements