World of Warcraft: Forever Raises Its Beta Cap Again Ahead of a 4 November Launch

Blizzard has raised the population cap on the World of Warcraft: Forever beta for a second time, according to a post on X by WoW executive producer Holly Longdale that Eurogamer and PC Gamer reported on 28 September. The beta, which Blizzard says runs until 21 October, is open to invited players and to buyers of two paid bundles, and the full game launches on 4 November at 3pm Pacific.

This article is built on Blizzard's own beta and pre-purchase announcements. The population-cap news is attributed to Eurogamer and PC Gamer, which both quote Longdale's post; we could not load the post on X directly, and Blizzard has not published beta player numbers.

What changed in the beta?

Longdale's post, as quoted by both outlets, says Blizzard "had to increase the WoW: Forever Beta population cap again". PC Gamer reads that as the second increase since the beta opened on 17 September. Eurogamer adds that Josh Greenfield, a long-time WoW Classic developer, described the beta's early numbers as the "craziest" he had seen in 17 years at Blizzard.

What the increases mean in actual players is not public. Blizzard has not said how large the cap was, how much it grew, or how many people are in the beta, so treat any concurrent-player figure you see elsewhere as unofficial.

Who can play the beta, and what does it cost?

There are two ways in. Blizzard sends invitations to players who opted in, and it gives beta access to anyone who buys the Skyborne Epic Pack or the limited-time Warcraft Forever Collection, according to its pre-purchase announcement. The cheaper Skyborne Heroic Pack does not include the beta. Eurogamer lists the Epic Pack at $59.99, £51.99 or €59.99; the Battle.net Shop did not load for us, so we could not check the other prices.

None of this is needed to play at launch. Blizzard says WoW: Forever is included with a normal World of Warcraft subscription or Game Time, which is why PC Gamer frames the Epic Pack as, in effect, paid early access. PC Gamer also reports that beta progress will be wiped when the test ends.

What is in the beta right now?

Blizzard's beta post sets the level cap at 20 at launch of the test, with a rise to 30 later on. The opening build contains the new Skyborne race and its Zephras Isle starting zone, all zone content up to level 20, and two new dungeons: Hall of Thanes (levels 13 to 18) and Ruins of Lordaeron (levels 15 to 20). More zones, dungeons and a new battleground are due to open as the beta continues.

The same post promises a "Server Slam": a window of several hours, later in the test, when anyone can log in to the beta without a pack or an invitation. Blizzard did not date it in that post, and we found no official date when we checked on 28 September.

Key dates between now and launch

What time does WoW: Forever launch in your time zone?

Blizzard's pre-purchase post gives 3pm PST, while its WoW: Forever news hub says 3pm PDT. On 4 November the US West Coast is back on standard time (the clocks change on 1 November), so PST is the one that matches the calendar. That puts the launch at 23:00 UTC; the table below uses that time.

What we don't know yet

Three things are still missing: how many people are actually in the beta, when the open Server Slam happens, and whether Blizzard will keep raising the cap or start queuing players instead. We will update this article if Blizzard dates the Server Slam.

What to do now

• If you only want to play at launch, an active subscription or Game Time on 4 November is enough; no pack is required.
• If you want the beta, the Epic Pack buys a little over three weeks of testing from today, with progress that PC Gamer says will not carry over.
• If a name matters to you, any upgrade edition unlocks Early Name Reservation from 27 October, first come, first served.
• If an invitation email arrives, Blizzard advises checking for a WoW: Forever beta licence under Your Game Accounts on Battle.net rather than clicking links, because of phishing.