Blizzard has announced: in World of Warcraft: Forever, players won't pick a server — they'll choose one of the 'rulesets': Normal, PvP, Roleplaying. Hardcore will be added after launch. Each ruleset lives as its own ecosystem — with separate groups, dungeons, raids, and community.

In World of Warcraft: Forever, a player chooses not a server, but one of the "rulesets": Normal, PvP, Roleplaying. Hardcore will come later — after launch. Blizzard Entertainment shared this on September 23, 2026, in a dedicated post on the game's European forum.

What exactly was announced

At launch, Forever offers three rulesets:

• Normal — a standard world with no PvP flags;
• PvP — a world where opposing faction players are always hostile and ready to fight;
• Roleplaying — a world for roleplay.

Hardcore will join the list "sometime after launch" — it won't be there at release. Each ruleset works as its own large ecosystem: it has its own groups, dungeon and raid queues, guilds, and auction house. By Blizzard's description, each ruleset is one big world for its own style of play — no familiar list of servers and realms.

What this changes

There's no list of servers at launch — no more choosing between PvP and PvE realms, no more popular and empty names, no more login queues. One account — one character per ruleset. Whether you can switch rulesets after creating a character, Blizzard didn't specify in this announcement.

What people are discussing under the announcement

Replies are piling up under the forum post — mostly around a few questions.

Permanence of the choice. Some participants are asking whether the ruleset choice is permanent and whether you can switch it if you change your mind. Blizzard hasn't responded yet.

Separate RP-PvP. They're asking for a fifth option — Roleplaying + PvP. According to the thread's participants, the push for that combination exists on the forums and on third-party WoW communities alike.

Faction and the PvP ruleset. They note: under the old system, you could keep Horde and Alliance characters on different PvP servers on a single subscription. In Forever, where there's a single PvP ruleset, picking a faction inside it effectively locks out either Horde or Alliance for one account — you'd need a second.

In practice

• If you're deciding right now: the ruleset is the only choice that defines your whole experience going forward — the world, the faction, the social life, the cost of a mistake. Worth figuring out in advance what you want from Forever.
• If you're planning for Hardcore — it won't be there at launch. Don't tie yourself to other rulesets until it appears.
• If you want RP-PvP — Blizzard is silent so far. You can support the thread on the forum — it's been noticed.
• If you planned to play both factions on PvP — set up a second account or wait for an answer about switching rulesets.