The open beta of World of Warcraft: Forever launched on September 17, 2026, with multi-hour login queues — a scene that reminded players of the original World of Warcraft launch in 2004. Blizzard said it is working to expand access.

The day World of Warcraft: Forever's open beta launched — September 17, 2026 — players trying to get in faced queues of an hour or more. By their account, the situation called to mind the launch of the original World of Warcraft in November 2004, when the first servers also buckled under the flood of players.

What happened

• Login queues on day one of the beta lasted an hour or more; there were so many people that free slots ran out.
• The comparison to 2004 came immediately: in November 2004 the original World of Warcraft also kicked off with hours-long queues, and Forever, by players' account, replayed that scenario.
• Blizzard reacted quickly and said it was working to let everyone in as soon as possible. No specifics — no timeline for expanding access, no technical measures — appear in the source.

Context

The Forever beta was one of the most anticipated in the Classic WoW segment. The surge of interest was so heavy the servers couldn't handle day one. Blizzard's plan has the open beta running until October 21, 2026, with full launch on November 4, 2026.

What this means for you

• If you couldn't get into the beta on September 17 — it was a mass issue, not something on your end.
• Blizzard promised to expand access, but gave no firm timeline.
• The beta runs until October 21, 2026; the full Forever launch is slated for November 4, 2026.