Classic+ is World of Warcraft: Forever
BlueCommunityBlizzCon 2026 named the long-rumored Classic+ branch. It is a separate, evergreen Azeroth with a level-60 cap — not a season, and not a Classic patch.
This recap mixes Blue official Blizzard copy with Community demo notes and creator videos. Creator-cited lines sit in a warmer gold so community statements read apart from the recap. Sources at the bottom are split the same way.
Blizzard announced World of Warcraft: Forever at BlizzCon 2026 as the official answer to years of Classic+ speculation. Executive producer Holly Longdale framed it as a new beginning that never ends: original Azeroth, held in a first-year time bubble, with a level cap of 60 for the foreseeable future.
Forever is not a mode inside Classic and not an expansion for modern WoW. It sits alongside both. Access is included with an active World of Warcraft subscription or Game Time. The beta opens September 17, 2026. Global launch is November 4, 2026 at 3:00 p.m. PST.
The pitch is the world as the main character. No flying mounts. No level scaling. Leveling stays as important as endgame. Blizzard says new content will fill blank spaces on the original map rather than jumping to Outland or Northrend.
Holly’s opening-ceremony clip states Forever is “your new permanent home,” “friendly, familiar, and new,” and will “live right alongside our modern and classic games.” It is “focused on what made vanilla so memorable in the first place. The world as a main character.” Instead of one big heroic story, “you will carve your own path.” Community is “nurtured.” “There’s no rush here. It’s the journey that counts, not the destination.” Sodapoppin, 5:27
The same clip places the setting “after the events of Warcraft III, but before Molten Core. So essentially year one of Vanilla WoW.” Players “meet up on our original continents, embark on the journey to 60, and stay at 60 indefinitely” so they do not “leave our accomplishments, our gear, and our friends behind.” Sodapoppin, 10:42
Ace’s recap of the panel states Forever will not add Outland, Northrend, Pandaria, or the Broken Isles. Ace, 7:41