On September 22, Blizzard sent employees a memo about company layoffs. It specifically clarifies that the World of Warcraft team, including Forever, was not affected. An Xbox representative confirmed the memo's authenticity.

On September 22, Blizzard sent employees a memo about company layoffs. It specifically states that the World of Warcraft team — and therefore Forever development — is not affected by these layoffs. An Xbox representative confirmed the memo's authenticity (Blizzard is part of Microsoft).

The layoffs fell on the tenth day after BlizzCon 2026, where Blizzard showed Forever, and on the fifth day after the start of the closed beta. With the beta's popularity, Blizzard once again raised the server cap.

What's known:

• In the current wave of Xbox layoffs, Blizzard is not mentioned — other Microsoft studios were hit.
• In its own memo, Blizzard specifically stressed that the WoW team is not part of these layoffs.
• An Xbox representative confirmed the memo's authenticity.
• Eurogamer's headline about Blizzard layoffs uses the word "imminent."

In practice:

• If you're in the closed beta of Forever — the beta runs on schedule until October 21, 2026.
• The general launch of Forever is November 4, 2026 at 23:00 UTC (November 5 at 02:00 MSK), no delays.
• Forever development continues with the same team.