Blizzard didn't just date the launch: at BlizzCon it showed a one-year roadmap for Forever. It's the best hint of how they plan to sustain a game that, by name, never ends. The official image and every phase in detail live on our roadmap page; here's the reading.
Autumn: test, reserve, log in
- Beta, September 17 to October 22, capped at level 30. Skyborne Epic Pack and Warcraft Forever Collection owners get in. Note: the official page's fine print says "through October 21"; the image says the 22nd.
- Name reservation, October 27. Character creation opens until November 3. With two-part names unique per region, don't be late.
- Launch, November 4, 3:00 p.m. PST.
Winter: the first endgame content
- December 9: raids open. Three at once, in three sizes:
- Barrow Deeps, 10 players, with three entrances — one in Mount Hyjal — and infamous night elf prisoners.
- Hyjal Summit, 20 players.
- Onyxia's Lair, 40 players.
- Hardcore, no set date. Blizzard made it clear it won't be there at launch.
Raids landing a month after launch is a statement: one of Forever's rules is that leveling matters as much as endgame.
2027: two big updates
- Spring 2027: two new raids (a 10 and a 20), two dungeons, new quests and a new playable area, a legendary questline and a PvP season refresh.
- Summer 2027: a revamped iconic raid, another new raid, expanded world content, two dungeons, a PvP season and profession and Legacy updates.
What the image doesn't say
None of the 2027 raids or dungeons has a name yet, and the "revamped iconic raid" is the big unknown. No bosses have been published for the December raids either. When Blizzard shares it, you'll see it first in News and then organized in the raids and dungeons pages.
