Holly Longdale, executive producer of World of Warcraft, wrote over the weekend that the team had to increase the population cap on the beta servers once again — demand for the test continues to grow.

What happened

Holly Longdale, executive producer of World of Warcraft at Blizzard, wrote on September 28, 2026, on X: "So… we had to increase the WoW: Forever Beta population cap again. The wild ride continues". The team is scaling capacity to match the growing audience.

When and by how much

The Forever open beta launched on September 17, 2026. The cap was raised over the weekend of September 27–28, roughly ten days after the test started. Blizzard is not disclosing either the old or the new size of the cap — it's only known that this is the second increase since launch.

Team's reaction

A week earlier, World of Warcraft: Classic developer Josh "Aggrend" Greenfield already said the beta had produced "craziest numbers I've seen in 17 years working at Blizzard and almost 8 years on classic" — the wildest numbers in his entire time at the company. After Longdale's words about audience growth, Aggrend's assessment is being confirmed in practice.

Cost of entry

To get into the test, you need the Skyborne Epic Pack — £51.99 / $59.99 / €59.99. At release on November 4, 2026 (23:00 UTC), Forever will move to a monthly subscription, and the player base, per Eurogamer's expectations, is expected to grow even more noticeably.

Context: how Classic launched in 2019

The launch of the original WoW: Classic in 2019 was the biggest subscriber jump in the franchise's history. Now, at the paid test stage, Forever is repeating that effect — which means the November 4 release could end up matching it in reach.

In practice

• The beta may see login queues and slower response during peak load hours.
• Audience growth at the paid test stage is a good sign: Blizzard is scaling servers to match real demand.
• By the November 4 release, the team will most likely continue to ramp up capacity; keep an eye on announcements.