World of Warcraft: Forever developers decided to erase server boundaries and create a shared game world for everyone

Blizzard announced at a BlizzCon 2026 roundtable that World of Warcraft: Forever will drop the traditional model of selectable realms in favor of a single, regional mega-server. Players will no longer pick a specific server; instead they will choose one of three regions — America, Europe, or Asia — and their preferred playstyle when creating a character. Although the world will be unified by region, players will be distributed across multiple layers to help manage population and server load.

Character creation will include a playstyle selection that determines which version of the shared world you inhabit. Only players who select the same playstyle will be able to meet in the open world or invite one another into groups. Additional details disclosed by the developers include:

• Alliance and Horde characters will still not be able to join groups together;
• A "Preferred Language" option will appear in the game menu. The phasing system will automatically match you with players who have selected the same language. This setting can be changed once every 24 hours.
• Death in "hardcore mode" is not final: the player can resurrect the character by choosing a different playstyle but without the possibility to switch back.
• To spare players from endlessly cycling through available names, character names can now consist of two words (first and last name).

World of Warcraft: Forever is scheduled to launch on November 4, 2026. Pre-orders are already available, and players can apply to participate in the closed beta testing.