BlizzCon 2026 recap: new zones, nine dungeons, two raids and the post-launch roadmap

· ForeverDB

What Blizzard showed at BlizzCon’s What’s Next and Found Photos panels: Mount Hyjal, Shen’dralas and the Riverglades, nine new dungeons, Hyjal Summit and the Barrow Deeps, a 15v15 battleground and what comes after the November 4 launch.

World of Warcraft: Forever was revealed at BlizzCon 2026. Blizzard calls it a new permanent home alongside modern and Classic WoW, set after the events of Warcraft III Reforged: Forsaken Kingdom and before Molten Core. You adventure to level 60 on the original continents, and the game keeps growing with new stories and updates after that. This recap pulls together the What’s Next and Found Photos panels and the follow-up announcements.

This is not a mode, a season, or a new version of Classic. It is a promise to keep building this world with the community, guided by your feedback, and made to last. Blizzard Entertainment, World of Warcraft: Forever What’s Next Panel Recap

The ground rules

Four pillars guide the design: approachable and familiar, the world as the main character, the journey before the destination, and protecting the social experiences that make Azeroth feel alive. In practice that means no flying mounts, no level scaling, and a continued focus on challenge, preparation, communication and cooperation. Blizzard says levelling stays just as important as endgame, and that it is being thoughtful about convenience, because every quality-of-life choice can shape how players meet and gather.

The Found Photos panel explained the story approach. Forever starts in the early “Year 1” period of Azeroth, before Kazzak reopened the Dark Portal, and sits in its own “time bubble”. The team looks for story threads that feel like they could have been part of Classic all along. New content falls into three groups: anticipated (places players have long wanted to visit, such as Mount Hyjal), new but familiar (fresh stories in existing places, like the Riverglades) and unexpected (surprises, used more sparingly).

New places to explore

Blizzard promises more than a thousand new quests across the level 1–60 journey. The headline zones:

  • Mount Hyjal: explore the aftermath of Archimonde’s defeat, travel through Darkwhisper Gorge and help shape the future of a recovering land.
  • Shen’dralas: a long-hidden mystery between Mulgore and Desolace. The Found Photos recap places it south of Desolace through the Valley of Bones. It ties into the Shen’dralar, Eldre’Thalas, Dire Maul and the region’s centaur tribes.
  • Riverglades: a rugged frontier of rivers, grasslands and trade routes, built from a previously inaccessible part of the Classic world and connected to the Burning Steppes, Redridge Mountains, Swamp of Sorrows and Badlands. The What’s Next recap says it has more than 150 new quests covering much of the mid-30s to mid-40s. The Found Photos recap calls it roughly the size of Stranglethorn Vale, with nearly 200 quests for Horde and Alliance players. Its port is Powderfuse Port, and new Powderfuse goblins, the Twilight’s Hammer and the Brotherhood of the Horse all appear there.
  • Zephras Isle: the level 1–12 starting zone of the new Skyborne race.

Familiar zones get attention too. Starting areas such as the Valley of Trials and Shadowglen gain new NPCs, quests, profession hooks and recipes. The Wetlands gets new quests, and Desolace’s centaur faction quests get more content and faction rewards.

Travel is changing as well. New ship routes run from Stormwind Harbor to Auberdine, and between Menethil, Southshore and Auberdine. A Steamwheedle Cartel route from Tanaris leads to the Riverglades.

Nine new dungeons

After BlizzCon, Kaivax posted the full list with level ranges, correcting Krol’dok Stronghold to levels 40–45:

  • The Hall of Thanes (13–18), beneath Ironforge
  • Ruins of Lordaeron (15–20), where you help the Forsaken reclaim the ruins
  • Excavation Site: Wetlands (24–29), described at the panel as a mysterious excavation site above Whelgar’s Excavation
  • City of Dalaran (28–33), with strange magical trouble to investigate
  • The Drowned City (35–40), with naga and pirates
  • Krol’dok Stronghold (40–45)
  • Alcaz Prison (48–53)
  • Blackmaw Hold (55–60), with corruption stirring in its depths
  • Shaper’s Terrace (58–60)

The panel also teased titan mysteries in Un’Goro. The Hall of Thanes and Ruins of Lordaeron were already playable in the first week of the beta.

Raids and PvP

  • Hyjal Summit: 20-player raid encounters.
  • The Barrow Deeps: a 10-player challenge at maximum level.
  • The raids bring new tier sets and a legendary reward that Blizzard hasn’t fully revealed yet.
  • Darkspear Islands: a new 15 vs 15 battleground off the coast of Kalimdor that mixes strategic control points with Arathi Basin-style flag captures and defense.

Options for how the game looks and plays

Forever includes opt-in transmog, modern and Classic visual presets, a choice of High-Definition or Standard-Definition character models, restored Classic animations for HD models, and official gamepad support. Rendering updates add touches such as rivers flowing through Elwynn Forest, mist over the waters of Darkshore and moonlight through the trees of Ashenvale.

The roadmap

World of Warcraft: Forever launches globally on November 4, 2026, at 3:00 p.m. PST, and the beta began on September 17. New raids unlock on December 9. After that, Blizzard lists more raids, dungeons, PvP updates, world content, more quests across the level 1–60 journey, Hardcore, a revamped iconic raid and further major updates, without dates.

Editions

Access to Forever is included with a World of Warcraft subscription or Game Time. There are three optional upgrade editions:

  • Skyborne Heroic Pack: access to the Skyborne race and Zephras Isle, Early Name Reservation, the Cerulean Prideclaw ground mount (you still need to buy the riding skill in-game), cosmetics, housing decor and one Invite-A-Friend Launch Code.
  • Skyborne Epic Pack: everything in the Heroic Pack, plus beta access, 30 days of Game Time starting November 4, more cosmetics, pets and tabards, and three Invite-A-Friend Launch Codes in total.
  • Warcraft Forever Collection (limited time): everything in the Epic Pack, plus Warcraft III: Reforged, the Warcraft III Reforged: Forsaken Kingdom campaign, and Forsaken and Human Figurine decor for Housing in modern WoW.

There is also a physical Collector’s Edition from the Blizzard Gear Store. It contains a Warcraft Forever Collection code, a 13-inch Dwarf and Bear statue, a Zephras Isle mousepad, art prints, collectible pins and a companion journal. In a September 24 update, Blizzard said more English copies were being made available in North America, the United Kingdom, Europe, Australia and New Zealand, with exact timing varying by retailer. Orders from this restock are expected to ship and arrive in February 2027, after launch, and the Gear Store limits purchases to one per household.

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