When WoW Forever is set

Blizzard has said exactly where Forever sits: at the start of original World of Warcraft, in a "time bubble" of its own. Here is what that means for your character, what has already happened, what hasn't, and where we are reading between the lines.

The Burning of Andorhal loading screen from the WoW Forever client — The Burning of Andorhal, one of the Scourge's scars on Lordaeron. A loading screen from the Forever client.

Set: After Warcraft III Reforged: Forsaken Kingdom, before Molten Core
Period: Azeroth's "Year 1"
Not yet: The Dark Portal reopened, Northrend
Launch: November 4, 2026

What Blizzard says

Blizzard gave the starting point in its very first announcement: Forever takes place after the new Warcraft III campaign and before the first raid of original World of Warcraft.

Set after the events of Warcraft III Reforged: Forsaken Kingdom and before Molten Core, players will return to the original continents, adventure to level 60, and continue progressing through new stories, experiences, and updates inspired by years of player passion and feedback.
Blizzard: Carve a New Path with World of Warcraft: Forever (Blizzard)

The BlizzCon Found Photos panel went further. It calls this Azeroth's "Year 1": before the Dark Portal opens again and before anyone sails to Northrend.

WoW: Forever begins where original World of Warcraft begins: in the early “Year 1” period of Azeroth, before Kazzak reopened the Dark Portal and before later journeys to places like Northrend reshaped the timeline.
Blizzard: World of Warcraft: Forever Found Photos Panel Recap (Blizzard)

And it explains why Forever can add new places and people without breaking what came later: Forever lives in a bubble of its own, and its new stories are meant to feel as if they were always there.

WoW: Forever occupies its own “time bubble,” allowing the team to explore those possibilities without disrupting original Azeroth’s foundational stories.
Blizzard: World of Warcraft: Forever Found Photos Panel Recap (Blizzard)

Blizzard's name for this is "found photographs": local mysteries, grounded conflicts and characters who were in the background of original Azeroth. For a roleplayer that is good news. Stories about a village, a family feud or a half-forgotten ruin fit Forever's own approach.

In WoW Forever: The time bubble means Forever's story can grow without moving on to The Burning Crusade. New zones (the Riverglades, Shen'dralas, Mount Hyjal), a new people (the Skyborne) and new class paths such as Forsaken paladins all happen in the same Year 1.

What has already happened

The client's own descriptions of races and factions, and Blizzard's posts, tell us the state of the world when your character starts:

The orcs are free of the demons. The orc description says they escaped the Burning Legion's corruption after many years and now fight for honour in a land that distrusts them.
Thrall leads the Horde from Orgrimmar, which the client says he founded. The Darkspear trolls sailed to Kalimdor with him and now share Durotar.
The tauren have joined the Horde in thanks for the orcs' help against the centaur. Cairne Bloodhoof leads them from Thunder Bluff.
The Forsaken have broken from the Lich King. Sylvanas leads them from beneath the ruins of Lordaeron. The client's Hallow's End description says the holiday celebrates that break.
Archimonde has been defeated at Mount Hyjal. Blizzard's Hyjal zone is about the aftermath of that battle.
Gnomeregan has fallen to a trogg invasion, and its gnomes live as exiles in Ironforge.
Stormwind is ruled by a child king. The client's Stormwind faction text names Anduin Wrynn as king.
The night elves have left their seclusion after the Burning Legion's return, and their Darnassus is ruled by Tyrande Whisperwind.

One of the last bastions of human power, this Alliance capital is ruled by the child king, Anduin Wrynn.
From the game client: Stormwind, the faction description in the WoW Forever client

Hallow's End celebrates the break of the Forsaken from the Scourge.
From the game client: Hallow's End, the holiday description in the WoW Forever client

Warcraft background: In the earlier games: the orcs came to Azeroth through the Dark Portal in the First War and were beaten in the Second, then kept in internment camps until Thrall freed them. In the Third War the plague of undeath swept Lordaeron, Prince Arthas destroyed Quel'Thalas and summoned Archimonde, and the Horde, the survivors of Lordaeron and the night elves fought together to stop the demon at the World Tree on Mount Hyjal. Afterwards the Horde settled Durotar and Kalimdor, and the humans who crossed the sea founded Theramore.

What hasn't happened yet

The Dark Portal is closed. Blizzard says Forever comes before Kazzak reopened it, so nobody in your character's world has been to Outland.
Nobody has gone to Northrend. Blizzard names journeys there as later history.
Molten Core comes after the start of Forever. The first raid of original World of Warcraft is still ahead, so Ragnaros and the Firelord's hold on Blackrock Mountain are a live threat.

Speculation: Anything from later expansions (the Cataclysm, the Pandaren, the Legion's return) hasn't happened. We infer this from Blizzard's "Year 1" and "before Molten Core"; Blizzard hasn't listed every later event. The Forever client does have Gilneas areas and a Battle for Gilneas map, but Blizzard hasn't announced them, so Gilneas's future in Forever is unknown. See Gilneas.

Where the Forsaken Kingdom campaign fits

Forsaken Kingdom is a new Warcraft III Reforged campaign. Blizzard ties one Forever story directly to it: the Forsaken paladins' path starts where that campaign ends, while other Forsaken still distrust them.

Their path rolls directly out of the new Warcraft III campaign Forsaken Kingdom, beginning at a time when these former paladins are deeply mistrusted by other Forsaken and still learning what it means to channel the Light in undeath.
Blizzard: World of Warcraft: Forever Found Photos Panel Recap (Blizzard)

Speculation: What happens in Forsaken Kingdom itself isn't in the Forever client or Blizzard's Forever posts, so we don't describe it here. If you roleplay a Forsaken paladin, keep the campaign's events vague until you've played it.

The Skyborne's own history

The Skyborne add a thread that reaches much further back. Blizzard says their ancestors were rebels who left Eldre'Thalas after the War of the Ancients and found refuge in Skywall, an elemental plane of air. The client's High Order faction text says they have spent the past 10,000 years there. They are new to the Azeroth of Year 1, and Year 1 is new to them. See the Skyborne.

Their history begins with rebels who fled Eldre’Thalas after the War of the Ancients and eventually found refuge in Skywall, where wind spirits anchored their island home in the elemental plane.
Blizzard: World of Warcraft: Forever Found Photos Panel Recap (Blizzard)

Timeline at a glance

When	What	Source
About 10,000 years ago	The War of the Ancients; rebels leave Eldre'Thalas and later settle in Skywall	Blizzard; the client's High Order text
The First and Second Wars	The orcs invade through the Dark Portal and are defeated	Warcraft background; the client's orc text
The Third War	Lordaeron falls to the Scourge; Archimonde is defeated at Mount Hyjal	Warcraft background; Blizzard's Hyjal text
Warcraft III Reforged: Forsaken Kingdom	A new campaign; Forsaken paladins' story follows it	Blizzard
Year 1: WoW Forever	Your character's present day	Blizzard
Later	Molten Core; Kazzak reopens the Dark Portal; Northrend	Blizzard

The order of events, not dates: Blizzard hasn't given years for Forever.

What this means at the table

Veterans of the Third War are everywhere: soldiers of Lordaeron, orcs who remember the camps, night elves who fought at Hyjal. It is recent memory.
Nobody knows what lies beyond the Dark Portal, and it's closed. A character who talks about Outland or Northrend as places they've seen is out of time.
The Skyborne are a surprise to everyone, including the Skyborne. Nobody on the mainland has heard of them.
Forsaken paladins are new and mistrusted, even among the Forsaken.
Dalaran, Hyjal and the lands beyond the Burning Steppes are opening up, so exploration stories fit the moment. See places.