The WoW: Forever roadmap, 2026 to 2027

Every stop on the roadmap

Blizzard showed its 2026–2027 roadmap for World of Warcraft: Forever at the 12 September reveal, and it has been reposted ever since. Vanilla Dad's copy on X on 16 October drew tens of thousands of views. The graphic splits into two halves. Everything up to the December raid unlock has a calendar date. Everything after it, Hardcore and two large updates in 2027, is placed by season only.

The table lists every stop in order. The last column says whether Blizzard gave a date or only a season, and that is the part worth remembering when you plan around it.

Before launch: beta and name reservation

The beta opened on 17 September. Owners of the Skyborne Epic Pack or the Warcraft Forever Collection get access automatically, and Blizzard also invites selected players who opted in on the beta sign-up. The roadmap graphic shows it running until 22 October. Blizzard's pre-purchase article is more precise: the beta runs through 21 October, Pacific time. Plan around 21 October Pacific time; in time zones well ahead of the US Pacific coast, the evening of the 21st there is already the 22nd.

Anyone can try Forever before launch during the stress test. Each region has its own start, and they are different moments: 2:00 p.m. PDT on 19 October in North America, 19:00 CEST on 19 October in Europe, 06:00 KST on 20 October in Korea and 05:00 CST on 20 October in Taiwan. It needs no subscription, game time, invitation or beta access, and Blizzard says the window may end earlier or run later. Characters, names and guilds made in the stress test are wiped before name reservation opens.

Early name reservation runs from 27 October to 3 November, Pacific time. Any upgrade purchase includes it, and you can create and customise up to three characters before launch. Names go first come, first served, and Blizzard says it can't guarantee the one you want.

Launch and the December raids

Forever launches worldwide on 4 November 2026 at 3:00 p.m. PST, which is 11:00 p.m. UTC. A subscription or game time is all you need to play. Qualifying upgrade purchases, which exclude gifts, also come with Invite-A-Friend codes that let an eligible friend play from 4 to 11 November without a subscription.

The first raids unlock five weeks later, on 9 December. Barrow Deeps is a 10-player raid for characters at the level cap, and Hyjal Summit is a 20-player raid. Blizzard's written panel recap names only those two. Onyxia's Lair, listed for 40 players, comes from the roadmap graphic itself, so treat its group size as what Blizzard has shown rather than something it has explained.

Hardcore: winter, with no date

Forever Hardcore isn't part of the 4 November launch. On the full graphic its launch banner sits in the winter column, after the 9 December raid unlock and before the spring update. Blizzard's own post sharing the roadmap describes that part of the year as "Winter & Beyond: HARDCORE, raids, and more." Blizzard hasn't given a day or a month.

Two versions of the graphic circulate on social media, and one of them leaves out the Hardcore column. Blizzard's own roadmap post names Hardcore, and we found no Blizzard statement moving or dropping it. If the graphic's order holds, Hardcore arrives no earlier than the December raids, five weeks after launch.

Spring and summer 2027

Spring 2027 lists two new raids, one for 10 players and one for 20, plus two new dungeons, new quests with a new playable area, a new legendary questline and a PvP season refresh. Blizzard hasn't named the raids, the dungeons, the area or the legendary.

Summer 2027 adds a revamped iconic raid, another new raid, expanded world content, two more dungeons, a second PvP season refresh, and updates to professions and Legacy. Which classic raid gets the revamp is the biggest open question on the whole roadmap. Blizzard hasn't hinted at it, so any name you see is a guess.

How firm are the 2027 seasons?

Not very, by Blizzard's own wording. The footnote on the graphic says more news will come beyond this roadmap, features will change based on player feedback, and content and timing are subject to change. A season is a target, not a release date.

Blizzard Watch estimated that a 10–12 week update cycle, like retail's and Classic's, would put spring around early March 2027 and summer around late May or early June. That's an outside estimate, not Blizzard's schedule. Blizzard hasn't said when it will announce the real dates. We'll add them to this page as they're published.