Project Balance returns as a hardcore-only realm with a level 20 cap

Project Balance announced on 24 July 2026 that it is back, this time as a hardcore-only realm on the 3.3.5a client. The first phase, with a level 20 cap, was already live, and the next caps were set at 30, 40 and 50.

"Dead is dead," the developers wrote. A disconnect, fall damage or anything else ends the character for good.

What the relaunch brought

• A harder world and new spells
• Class and spec balancing, still in progress and mostly aimed at levels above 10
• Passive racial bonuses for races that were falling behind
• Weak items fixed up to level 20, with more item work under way
• A third profession, gathering only, that characters with two professions can learn once at level 10
• Free respecs, dual spec, transmogrification, a world chat and shared party loot
• No shop and no donations. Players with money to spare are asked to give it to Doctors Without Borders instead

Players vote on changes and on the timeline, and new world bosses may follow, with "no promises". The developers also said when the project would end: after three months with two players or fewer.

Project (Un)Balance

The same two developers first opened the server on 11 February 2026 as Project (Un)Balance, a PvE realm on AzerothCore that started with levels 1 to 60, harder mobs and roles borrowed from Season of Discovery: Shamans, Rogues and Warlocks could tank, and Mages could heal. Hardcore was one option then, next to softcore, self-found and self-crafted play, at about x1.3 experience. After the first week the developer reported 10 to 25 players online, a peak of 40 and 200 accounts.

Source: the developers' posts on r/wowservers and r/WoWPrivateServers ("Project Balance is back as Hardcore only", 24 and 25 July 2026, and the Project (Un)Balance posts of 29 January, 11 February and 15 February 2026).