Update, 21 October 2026: this guide was written on October 20, the day before the stress test. Two things changed overnight, and this page is updated rather than rewritten.
The beta no longer ends tonight. On the evening of October 20, Kaivax announced that Blizzard will "close the WoW Forever Beta … forever at 10:00 a.m. PDT on Friday, October 23". The stress test still runs tonight, October 21, but the beta reopens afterwards and stays open for two more days. See our report.
The stress test has an end time. The window is four hours in every timezone Blizzard listed, from 2:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. PDT. The table in the October 21 section below is updated with both ends.
World of Warcraft: Forever launches on November 4 2026 at 3:00 p.m. PST. Between now and then there are four dates that actually require you to do something, and one of them is tomorrow. Everything below comes from Blizzard's own posts, and where the company contradicts itself we say so.
October 20 (today): invite codes start arriving
Pre-purchase Invite-A-Friend Launch Codes are emailed "beginning October 20, 2026, PST". The Skyborne Heroic Pack includes one, and the Skyborne Epic Pack and Warcraft Forever Collection include three each. Gift purchases are excluded.
The codes grant launch-week access from November 4 through November 11 to somebody who does not otherwise have a subscription, so they are worth claiming before somebody else in your group does.
October 21: the stress test, and the beta's last day
The stress test is on October 21, and anyone can join. No subscription, Game Time, invitation or beta access is required. Kaivax's version of the announcement adds the end times, so the window is four hours long in every listed timezone.
| Region | Local start | Local end |
|---|---|---|
| North America | 2:00 p.m. PDT | 6:00 p.m. PDT |
| Europe | 19:00 CEST | 03:00 CEST |
| United Kingdom and Ireland | 18:00 BST | 02:00 BST |
| Korea | 06:00 KST, October 22 | 10:00 KST, October 22 |
| Taiwan | 05:00 CST, October 22 | 09:00 CST, October 22 |
Blizzard also listed New Zealand at 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. and Australia at 8:00 a.m. to noon, both on October 22, and the US eastern and central zones in their local evening.
To get in: update your graphics drivers, open the Battle.net app, select World of Warcraft, open the Game Version menu above the Play button, choose World of Warcraft: Forever Stress Test under In Development, install, then Play and pick a realm. Installing today is the whole point of this paragraph. Tomorrow is when everyone else will be downloading.
Everything in the stress test is deleted. Blizzard is explicit: "At the end of the Stress Test, all created characters, names, and guilds will be wiped from the Stress Test servers." Kaivax's wording is "all Stress Test characters, including names, will be deleted and we will re-open the Beta". That is deliberate, because the wipe clears the field for name reservations.
The beta itself runs through October 21, 2026 PST, and Blizzard says it will be taken offline shortly before the test and is "expected to return shortly after it ends". Updated 21 October: the beta no longer ends on the 21st. It reopens after the test and closes at 10:00 a.m. PDT on Friday, October 23.
October 27 to November 3: name reservation
Early Name Reservation runs from October 27 through November 3, 2026 PST and is included with any upgrade purchase, including the Heroic pack. You can create and customize up to three characters, and names are first come, first served. Blizzard states plainly that "desired names cannot be guaranteed".
Two things follow from that. The reservation is the only way to lock a name before launch, and it is also the only reason left to buy an upgrade right now: the beta access in the Epic pack is worth nothing after the beta closes. Updated 21 October: that is now October 23 rather than tomorrow. Our pack comparison is still the place to work out which edition, if any, you want.
November 4: launch
Forever launches globally on November 4 2026 at 3:00 p.m. PST. Access is included with a World of Warcraft subscription or Game Time, so the upgrade editions buy extras and early access to character creation, not the game itself.
The Epic Pack and the Warcraft Forever Collection also add 30 days of Game Time to your account starting November 4. Note the timezone: November 4 is after US daylight saving ends on November 1, so 3:00 p.m. PST is 6:00 p.m. EST, not 7:00 p.m.
Invite codes are valid from November 4 through November 11.
December 9: the first raids
Blizzard's roadmap puts the first new raids on December 9 2026: Hyjal Summit (20-player) and the Barrow Deeps (10-player, maximum level). There is one open contradiction in the official material that we have kept on the record since September: the roadmap says new raids unlock on December 9, while the official explainer and a designer interview place Onyxia's Lair at launch. We have not resolved it, and we will not pretend it is settled.
The short version
- Today: claim your invite codes if you have them, and install the stress test client.
- Tomorrow: log in, expect a wipe, and do not plan around anything you do there.
- Next week: reserve up to three names if you bought an upgrade.
- November 4, 3:00 p.m. PST: launch, with a subscription or Game Time.
- December 9: the first raid tier, subject to the Onyxia's Lair date conflict above.
If you are still deciding whether the official Classic+ is for you at all, our breakdown of what Forever actually is covers the world, the systems and the 60 cap, and the roadmap piece tracks everything announced beyond launch.