World of Warcraft: Forever What's Next at BlizzCon 2026 [ENDED]

We're waiting for the panel to begin. The opening ceremony went long.

This panel will be all about World of Warcraft: Forever.

Forever began as a story 9 years ago when they announced WoW Classic.

People wanted to go to the Burning Crusade, and that's what they worked on. But, back in 2020 there was a group of players who wanted to see something different, a group of dreamers. Those that felt Vanilla was the perfect MMO.

What if, we could stay at level 60? Blizzard also wondered what this would look like. What if they could make even meme specs viable?

The development pipeline they had built for Classic though was just about bringing the game back, not about adding to it. The idea though smoldered.

Different members of the Classic team kept experimenting with ways to play with the Vanilla experience. Seasonal Classic was a part of these experiments.

"How much change was too much change?"

They understand player knowledge is very different today vs 2005. They heard from the players in Season of Discovery they wanted more. They've seen all the online discourse about what it should be and shouldn't be. They are here to tell us what it is today.

The Core Blizzard Promises for WoW: Forever are:

• There are still adventures worth telling in the original zones.

• Going deeper into Kalimdor and the Eastern Kingdoms.

• Revisiting the mysteries that were never fully explored.

• They want the world to feel like Classic, approachable and familiar. No flying mounts, no level scaling.

• Azeroth should feel dangerous, you should need to think.

• The game won't be difficult just to be difficult. They want players to play together and succeed together.

• The World is the main character. New quests and rewards. Not every story is about saving the world. Memorable stories happen everywhere.

• The journey comes before the destination. It is designed as a long-term home that don't have level cap increases. Your professions matter, your gear matters.

• The catch-up system is to play the game.

• They want to protect and nurture social experiences.

• Camping is a new system.

• Each patch is going to come with additions to systems.

People think that Azeroth is a solved game. Blizzard disagrees, they just see potential.

Gilneas, Uldum, the mountains north of Un'Goro. Emerald Dream.

Every journey has to begin somewhere though for WoW: Forever so they want to start things off with things we know deeply.

Four new regions are coming to Azeroth.

Mount Hyjal is the first of the four new regions.

What happens in the aftermath of victory? This is a new "end-game leveling zone".

Hyjal has solo and group content. There is also a new launch raid, Hyjal Summit. It also serves as an entrance into another raid: The Barrow Deeps.

Shen'dralas, a small detail in the world today but a new zone in WoW: Forever with the Shen'dralar.

The Riverglades is another new zone, between Burning Steppes, Swamp of Sorrows, and Red Ridge. It is a leveling zone. Rivers, grasslands, and trade routes. Ogres, Gnolls, Goblins, and Murlocs.

The Riverglades is a story of living in Azeroth. More than 150 new quests for Horde and Alliance with new reputations. Expect to go here from mid 30s to mid 40s. There is also a new neutral goblin city.

There is a new Ogre dungeon here too!

The Zephras Isle is in the realm of Skywall. They are expanding on the ideas of Thunderfury and associated stories. They Skyborne are a new race that come from this land; Some love the Arcane, others are more Dark. Levels 1-12, its a new leveling zone.

Skyborne are Horde or Alliance, not a neutral race. You must choose right away. Horde Skyborne get access to Shamans. Alliance get Mages. They both get Warrior, Hunter, Rogue, and Druid.

The goal with Skyborn is to make them feel like they belong in Azeroth.

This isn't a one-time expansion or seasonal experience. They are going to grow the world with new regions, adventures, stories, and more for many years.

New dungeons, raids, battlegrounds, and rewards.

Nora Mills, Lead Software Engineer takes the stage.

In the Alterac Mountains, the magical barrier around Dalaran, put in place after the events of Warcraft III, is no longer around. There is demonic energy around there, the mages of the Kirin Tor don't have everything under control.

Levels 28 through 33 can go and explore there. Go and help out the powerful mages.

City of Dalaran is a new dungeon.

Two more leveling dungeons!

The Forsaken have been hard at work to restore the city, the ruins of Lordaeron. A Necromancer has moved in and there is a rumor he wants to take over another city. Levels 15+.

Hall of Thanes is a new Alliance-centric dungeon in Dun Morogh for lower levels starting at level 13.

We also have a new Wetlands dungeon: Excavation Site. Levels 24-29. The explorer's league might be interested in what's going on there.

The Drowned City is off the coast of Stranglethorn Vale, risen from the ocean. Trolls and Naga have been spotted there with a Pirate Ship. Level 35-40.

Alcaz Island Prison is a new Dungeon that is rumored to be where the Defias holds people for ransom. There is a Defias and Naga conflict inside. Level 48-53!

Shaper's Terrace is in the hills of Un'Goro Crater. There are old titan buildings, wildlife, power crystals, and "some source of power". Levels 58-60.

Krol'dok Stronghold is a Riverglades dungeon featuring Ogres from levels 40-55. Twilight Cultists too!

The gate in Azshara has a Furbolg city behind it: Blackmaw Hold.

The Barrow Deeps is a sacred place for the Night Elves and it's one of the new raids. No one truly knows how deep the tunnels run but this is where the Night Elves keep some of their prisoners. We might get to see Illidan's prison!

There might be some corruption. It is a 10 player raid.

Hyjal Summit is another new raid and this is after the defeat of Archimonde. Someone has been draining the land in today. It is a 20 player raid which so far is the largest raid in WoW: Forever.

This raid also has a legendary quest involved and new tier sets!

The Darkspear Islands is a 15v15 battleground, same rule set of Eye of the Storm.

There are a bunch of Class, Racial, and Itemization updates coming for WoW: Forever.

They want classes to still feel unique. Paladins get a new seal that lets them tank more effectively. Holy Paladins might be able to do a bit of group healing too with talents. Ret Paladins "maybe now is your time to shine".

Talents won't give you small improvements to stats anymore. They are more interesting.

Existing items got a pass to make sure they feel better.

Racial abilities now feel more unique than before. It makes that choice matter more.

Clay Stone joins the stage to share more updates: Associate Production Director.

Clay will be talking about things we weren't expecting.

There are rendering updates to the game. Not every zone is going to be sunrise or sunset at all times. They believe that the art style of WoW Classic is timeless. No huge overhauls to art, but they want to change the way that things like rivers work (they flow!), the way moonlight breaks through the trees in Ashenvale.

This is the same Azeroth we fell in love with, with small but powerful effects updates for immersion.

Camping is a new social system arriving in WoW: Forever. You can setup a campsite in the world to hang out and gain buffs. You can use trade skills at camp sites to add more buffs to it. Players have to sit around for a moment to gain buffs so maybe players will be social.

Legacy System is a new system that is about the leveling journey and aids players who love to run alts. It lets you unlock new perks on each of your leveling journeys. Not much else has been said about it.

Players love to debate what is and isn't classic World of Warcraft.

Transmog is one of those topics where players are very divided on. Blizzard has added transmog as an opt-in system. If you want to turn it on, you can. If you want to see what players truly look like, then keep it turned off.

The deep dive panel tomorrow will talk about about Camping and Legacy Systems and more.

Character models are another divided feature. So you can toggle between SD and HD models across the entire game. If you want to see the old designs, you can. The HD character models are using the SD model animations.

New Professions content, Reputations, Itemization, Rewards, PVP System, New LEGENDARY, Riding Skill changes, Gamepad support are all things they want to dive more into in the future.

We will also see previously unreleased Vanilla content.

Season of Discovery taught the team a lot. They are building Forever with a fast-paced production for a slow-paced game.

They have big plans.

A raid next summer is going to get a revamped iconic raid.

WoW Forever takes place at the beginning of World of Warcraft. Things will be different.

The game is going to be huge. They have room to pivot though based on the feedback of the community. The game is being built with the community.

We could see new classes.

Classic Hardcore was a turning point for the WoW team. It is the moment when Blizzard and the community came together and shows why the original adventure holds so much promise.

Hardcore is coming to WoW Forever as well.

There is a hardcore panel tomorrow.

Hardcore is not a seasonal realm. It is a promise.

That's the Forever collector's edition!

That concludes the panel. Thanks all!