WoW Forever release date and launch time: live countdown in your local time, EU, UK, US and Australia

WoW: Forever is two weeks away. Blizzard has set the launch for Wednesday, November 4, 2026, at 3:00 p.m. PST - which is already Thursday, November 5, for most of the world. Before that come three more dates you don't want to miss: the beta's last day, the name reservation, and the week your friends can play for free.

WoW Forever launches in

Launch: Wednesday, November 4, 2026, at 3:00 p.m. PST (23:00 UTC) - Thursday, November 5, in Europe, Asia and Australia.

Here is everything in one place, with the launch time converted for every major region.

Ticket-style graphic: WoW Forever launch, November 4, 3:00 p.m. PST, with the beta end, name reservation and first raid dates — Launch day, and the three dates around it.

The short version

Launch: November 4, 2026, 3:00 p.m. PST (November 5, 00:00 CET; 04:00 in Pakistan).
Beta closes: Friday, October 23, at 10 a.m. PDT - two days later than first planned.
Name reservation: October 27 to November 3, for anyone who bought an upgrade pack. Up to three characters.
Invite-A-Friend week: November 4 to 11. Pack owners can send codes that let a friend play without a subscription.
First raids: December 9 - Barrow Deeps, Hyjal Summit and Onyxia's Lair.

WoW: Forever launch time in your region

Blizzard's pre-purchase page gives one time: November 4, 2026, at 3:00 p.m. PST. PC Games Hardware lists the German launch as November 5 at 00:00 CET - the same moment. Here is that moment around the world:

Los Angeles (PST): Wednesday, Nov 4, 3:00 p.m.
New York (EST): Wednesday, Nov 4, 6:00 p.m.
São Paulo (BRT): Wednesday, Nov 4, 8:00 p.m.
London (GMT): Wednesday, Nov 4, 11:00 p.m.
Berlin, Paris (CET): Thursday, Nov 5, 00:00
Istanbul, Riyadh (UTC+3): Thursday, Nov 5, 2:00 a.m.
Dubai (GST): Thursday, Nov 5, 3:00 a.m.
Karachi, Lahore (PKT): Thursday, Nov 5, 4:00 a.m.
Delhi (IST): Thursday, Nov 5, 4:30 a.m.
Singapore, Manila: Thursday, Nov 5, 7:00 a.m.
Seoul, Tokyo: Thursday, Nov 5, 8:00 a.m.
Sydney (AEDT): Thursday, Nov 5, 10:00 a.m.

Clocks change before launch day - Europe leaves summer time on October 25 and the US on November 1 - so the times above are already the winter ones. Blizzard has only published the one Pacific time; if it ends up opening some regions separately, we'll update this list.

Tip: you need a World of Warcraft subscription or Game Time to play from launch - Forever is included with both, per Blizzard. The upgrade packs add the Skyborne race, cosmetics and early name reservation, not access itself.

The beta was extended to October 23

The beta was due to close on October 21, the day of the free stress test. Instead it stays up until Friday, October 23, at 10 a.m. PDT - 1 p.m. EDT, 6 p.m. BST, 7 p.m. CEST and 10 p.m. in Pakistan - as reported on October 21. MeinMMO reported the same from Blizzard's forum: the beta closes for good on October 23 at 19:00 CEST.

If you missed the stress test, our stress test guide explains what it was for. Like the beta, every stress test character is deleted.

Name reservation: October 27 to November 3

This is the date to put in your calendar if you want a short name. Blizzard's wording:

Early Name Reservation will be available from October 27 through November 3, 2026, PST, included with any upgrade purchase.— Blizzard, Pre-Purchase World of Warcraft: Forever Upgrades

Who: anyone who bought the Skyborne Heroic Pack, the Skyborne Epic Pack or the Warcraft Forever Collection.
How many: up to three characters, which you can also create and customize ahead of launch.
First come, first served. Blizzard is blunt about it: "Desired names cannot be guaranteed."

Tip: have a first and second choice ready for each character, and be online when reservation opens - popular names on busy realms can go fast.

Invite-A-Friend codes: a free launch week

Every upgrade pack comes with Invite-A-Friend Launch Codes - one with the Heroic Pack, three with the Epic Pack and the Collection. Blizzard started emailing them on October 20. A code lets a friend play during launch week, November 4 to 11, with no subscription or Game Time. It does not get them into the beta or the stress test.

Timeline from October 23 to December 9: beta closes, name reservation opens and ends, launch, Invite-A-Friend week, first raids — The road to launch, and what comes after.

After launch

The level cap is 60. The first raids open on December 9 - Barrow Deeps for 10 players, Hyjal Summit for 20 and Onyxia's Lair for 40, as we covered in our raid schedule article. PC Games Hardware also reports a Hardcore mode for winter 2026/27, with no exact date yet.

That gives you about five weeks from launch to the first raid. Our Pre-Raid BiS lists show the best gear you can get before then, and the quest database covers every quest on the way to 60.

Our take: a Wednesday afternoon launch in California means a Thursday morning start for Europe and Asia. Players in Pakistan, India and the Gulf get a 2 a.m. to 4:30 a.m. start - painful, but also a few quiet hours before European evening crowds arrive. Reserve your names on October 27 and you can log straight in.