Blizzard announces World of Warcraft: Forever, an official Classic+

At BlizzCon 2026 on 12 September, Blizzard revealed World of Warcraft: Forever, its own take on the "Classic+" idea that private servers such as Turtle WoW were built around. Blizzard describes it as a new permanent home for Classic players, next to modern WoW and the existing Classic realms. The game launches on 4 November 2026, and a beta began on Thursday, 17 September.

What was announced

• Level cap 60; the game is meant to stay at level 60 and receive new content over time
• Three new zones, including the Riverlands and Mount Hyjal
• More than 1,000 new quests, nine new dungeons, two new raids at launch and a new battleground
• A new playable race, the Skyborne: high elf exiles who can join either the Alliance or the Horde
• New race and class combinations, among them Forsaken Paladins and Dwarf Shamans
• Revamped talent trees, an account-wide Legacy reward system and updated lighting and effects
• Access is included in a regular World of Warcraft subscription

What it means for private servers

The announcement closes a year in which the biggest custom projects left the scene after legal action from Blizzard: Turtle WoW and Stormforge shut down in May and Ascension in September. Players who wanted new level 60 content now have an official option.

The first effect on the private-server scene came within days: the owner of Project Alterac named the Forever beta among the reasons for closing the server.

Sources: coverage of the BlizzCon announcement by Wowhead, Kotaku, Warcraft Tavern and Massively Overpowered.