World of Warcraft: Forever is the third permanent WoW branch alongside Retail and Classic. It's not a recreation of vanilla, but its continuation with new content and a level 60 cap that stays forever.

World of Warcraft: Forever is the third permanent branch of World of Warcraft. Alongside Retail and Classic, it stands as its own world: not a repeat of the vanilla you've already played, but its continuation with new content and familiar mechanics.

What kind of branch this is

Forever is Classic+: classic mechanics and the 1-60 era interface, but Blizzard keeps developing it. The branch is "permanent" in the same sense as Retail and Classic — it won't close after two or three expansions, but stays alongside them.

The announcement came at BlizzCon on 12 September 2026. The beta ran from 17 September to 21 October 2026, the global launch is 4 November 2026 at 23:00 UTC, and raids open 9 December 2026.

How Forever differs from Classic and Retail

In short:

• From Classic — it's not a frozen snapshot. The story doesn't repeat one-to-one, and the game receives new zones and dungeons on top of the familiar classic base.
• From Retail — there's no "level race". Progression and mechanics stay in the spirit of the 1-60 era, without modern systems like dragonriding or the endless gear treadmill.

Blizzard released an official video that breaks down these differences in detail — worth watching if the choice between branches feels unclear.

What's new inside

Forever isn't a recreation of vanilla. Blizzard is adding to the world:

• new zones expanding the map of familiar continents;
• new dungeons arriving in the first weeks after launch;
• new raids opening on 9 December 2026;
• a new race players receive at max level.

The classic mechanics themselves — talent trees, five-person groups, forty-person raids — are kept intact.

The level 60 cap — forever

The key feature of progression is a maximum level of 60 that won't grow. No "level up to 70, then 80" patches like in the past. That cap is permanent for Forever.

What this means for you

• If you loved vanilla and Classic, but asked for more — this is exactly that: a familiar world, with new content on top.
• If you're tired of Retail and the endless content stream — Forever offers a classic pace without the feeling of chasing progression.
• If you don't know where to go as a newcomer — the entry bar is the same as Classic 2019: time and company decide everything.
• Before launch — you could soak up impressions during the beta (it ended 21 October 2026), and raids open on 9 December 2026.

Forever is Blizzard's chance to give the old world a "third life" without breaking what players already love.