When does WoW Forever name reservation start?
WoW Forever Early Name Reservation opens on October 27, 2026, and the pre-purchase article dates the window through November 3, 2026, PST. Europe opens at 18:00 CET, which is 17:00 UTC. North America opens at 1:00 p.m. PDT, which is 20:00 UTC. Korea and Taiwan are dated October 28 locally, at 07:00.21
Blizzard published a local start for each region. The start-time post and that pre-purchase article, as cited here, do not include a closing clock.21
| Region | Published start | UTC |
|---|---|---|
| Europe | October 27, 18:00 CET | 17:00 |
| North America | October 27, 1:00 p.m. PDT | 20:00 |
| Korea | October 28, 07:00 KST | 22:00 on October 27 |
| Taiwan | October 28, 07:00 CST (Taiwan) | 23:00 on October 27 |
The UTC column is calculated from those published clocks: CET is UTC+1, PDT is UTC-7, KST is UTC+9, and the Taiwan time Blizzard labels CST is UTC+8. North America's 20:00 UTC open is 4:00 p.m. Eastern (EDT). On that UTC clock, Europe opens before the other three.2
Hours after Europe opens
Hours from Europe's published October 27, 18:00 CET start to each other region's published start.
Do you need a subscription to reserve a WoW Forever name?
WoW Forever name reservation has no subscription or game time requirement, according to Yryadorne's September 29, 2026 reply on Blizzard's EU support forum. That reply names one requirement: purchase one of the three editions. Playing Forever on November 4 still requires a subscription or Game Time.31
On September 29, Yryadorne wrote on Blizzard's EU Customer Support forum: "There is no subscription or game time requirement for the name reservation phase. The only requirement is to purchase one of the 3 editions, as mention on the shop page."3
The original poster quoted a support ticket from GM Slartysrg that said "character name reservations generally require an active World of Warcraft subscription."3
On October 23, a player who still saw "Subscription Expired" asked whether Play would work on the 27th. Yryadorne answered, "If you're eligible, you'll need to wait the 27th, yes."3
On September 28, Yryadorne pointed at the shop text: "Your WoW subscription or game time grants you access to WoW: Forever starting November 4." The next shop line says an upgrade unlocks Early Name Reservation, along with Skyborne, beta access, and cosmetics.3
The pre-purchase article includes Early Name Reservation with any upgrade purchase. The Skyborne Heroic Pack lists the reservation. The Skyborne Epic Pack includes everything in the Heroic Pack, and the Warcraft Forever Collection includes everything in the Epic Pack. Epic and the Collection also add 30 days of Game Time starting November 4. Invite-a-Friend codes are a different benefit: Blizzard says an eligible invited player can play from November 4 through November 11, 2026 without a subscription or Game Time, and the codes do not include beta access.1
A player in that forum thread quoted the shop footnote: the benefit applies only to the WoW account it was purchased for, names are first-come, first-served, and a desired name cannot be guaranteed.3
Collector's Edition restock
The Collector's Edition includes a Warcraft Forever Collection digital code. Blizzard's September 24 update says orders from that restock are expected to be shipped and delivered in February 2027, after launch. The update tells Collector's Edition buyers who want the digital benefits sooner to purchase a digital Forever product on the Battle.net Shop.6
What time does WoW Forever launch on November 4?
WoW Forever's launch time is published as two clocks. The opening of Carve a New Path says November 4 at 3:00 p.m. PDT. The pre-purchase article says November 4, 2026, at 3:00 p.m. PST. This site's Forever overview records both.
How many WoW Forever characters can you reserve?
WoW Forever Early Name Reservation allows three characters in one shared pool across rulesets. Blizzard's example is two characters on a PvP ruleset and one more on a Normal or Role-Play ruleset. That cap applies during Early Name Reservation. The same post does not give a character maximum for after November 3.2
The steps say to install World of Warcraft: Forever, choose a ruleset, and create the character. Creating the character is how the name is reserved.2
How does a WoW Forever character name work?
Each WoW Forever character has a first name and a second name, and the full combination has to be unique within the player's region. Two characters may share a first name when the full names differ. Blizzard's example is Asha Brightvale, Thalen Brightvale, and Mira Brightvale.7
The code of conduct for names still applies. Some words, spellings, and repeated-character patterns are restricted, including names that could impersonate Blizzard or the World of Warcraft team. The check can read both parts together, so splitting a restricted word across the two fields can still be rejected.7
Players can hide the second name in the world: press Escape, choose Options, then Nameplates, and click the checkbox for "My Secondary Name." The second name still appears in chat.7
On September 27, 2026, u/Cat-Beautiful posted on r/wowforever that names made on the PvP ruleset were already taken on the ruleset the poster called PvE. That post is a beta player's report, and the comments under it are player commentary.8 The published rule is regional uniqueness.7
Blizzard said characters, names, and guilds on the October 21 stress-test servers would be wiped at the end of that test, in preparation for name reservation on October 27.9 On October 23, Kaivax posted that the beta was closed and that character creation would open on Tuesday, October 27.10
Which ruleset is a reserved WoW Forever character on?
A reserved WoW Forever character is on one ruleset, and rulesets replace the old realm list. Players group, run dungeons, and raid with others on the same ruleset. Battlegrounds may include players from other rulesets, and Hardcore remains separate. Horde and Alliance cannot group together. Playing on another ruleset means creating another character.4
Normal. Blizzard describes exploration, questing, cooperation, and player-versus-player combat when the player chooses to engage. Both factions can be created on Normal.4
PvP. This is the ruleset for open-world conflict in contested territory. On PvP, an account can create characters for one faction. After an Alliance character exists there, a Horde character cannot be created on PvP, and the reverse is locked as well. Blizzard says faction-balance systems, similar to the approach in Season of Discovery, can temporarily limit new character creation for a faction that needs balance support.4
Roleplaying. Blizzard describes this ruleset as a place to lean into the fantasy of Azeroth and find like-minded adventurers. Both factions can be created.4
Roleplay-PvP. On October 22, Aggrend posted that a Roleplay-PvP ruleset will be added for launch on November 4, and that the team is "working hard" so players can select it and reserve names there on October 27.5 The ruleset article's October 22 note says Blizzard plans to make this ruleset available when Early Name Reservation begins that day.4 Neither post says whether Roleplay-PvP uses the one-faction limit.
Hardcore. Blizzard says death carries lasting consequences and that Hardcore will be available sometime after launch.4 The reservation post's three-character example names a PvP ruleset, a Normal ruleset, and a Role-Play ruleset.2 Once Hardcore exists, a character who dies there can transfer to another ruleset, including PvP. Collections and Legacy Points are account-wide across rulesets, with Hardcore handled differently: progress from the other rulesets does not flow back into Hardcore, and progress earned in Hardcore can become available elsewhere.4 Point caps and the other launch systems are in our ruleset and Legacy notes.
Preferred Online Language applies to every character on the account. Press Escape, choose Options, then Languages and Social under System, and set "Preferred Online Language." Another change waits 24 hours.4
How do you install WoW Forever and reserve a name?
To reserve a WoW Forever name, update graphics drivers, install the Battle.net desktop app and let it update, select World of Warcraft, and choose World of Warcraft: Forever in the version menu above Play. Then install, select Play, choose a ruleset, and create up to three characters. Creating the character is how the name is reserved.2
Blizzard says Forever requires a GPU based on AMD Graphics Core Next 1 (2012), NVIDIA Maxwell (2014), or Intel Skylake (2015), or a newer architecture. The unsupported examples in that post are the Radeon HD 6950, GeForce GTX 760, GTX 770, GTX 780, GTX 8xxM, and Intel HD Graphics 6000. The compatible examples are the Radeon HD 7850, GeForce GTX 9xx, GTX 750, GTX 750 Ti, and Intel HD Graphics 530, and Blizzard says those cards are still below the game's minimum requirements. The post ties the cutoff to RGBA16F UAV support in compute shaders and points to the Battle.net Shop for the full minimum spec.11
The Heroic Pack includes the Skyborne race and the Zephras Isle starting experience.1 The High Order Skyborne and Windshaper Skyborne pages, the race and class guide, and the talent calculator read this site's reviewed beta snapshot. About and sources describes those records as development data.
Sources & notes
Footnotes
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Blizzard: Pre-Purchase World of Warcraft: Forever Upgrades. Window dated October 27 through November 3, 2026, PST; upgrade eligibility; 30 days of Game Time starting November 4; launch at 3:00 p.m. PST; Invite-a-Friend access from November 4 through November 11, 2026. ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6 ↩7
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Blizzard: Claim Your World of Warcraft: Forever Character Names. Regional starts, the three-character pool, and the install steps. Chart delays are calculated from those clocks and saved in open-times.json. ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6 ↩7 ↩8 ↩9
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EU Customer Support thread. Yryadorne on September 28, September 29, and October 23, 2026; the quoted GM Slartysrg ticket; the shop lines and footnote quoted in the thread. ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6 ↩7
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Blizzard, updated October 22: Choose Your Ruleset. Ruleset behavior, faction limits, Hardcore timing, Legacy Points, and the Roleplay-PvP plan. ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6 ↩7 ↩8 ↩9
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Aggrend on the official US forum, October 22, 2026. Roleplay-PvP for the November 4 launch, with name reservation that week described as work still underway. ↩ ↩2
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Blizzard, updated September 24: Collector's Edition. Restock delivery expected February 2027; digital code; buying digital access sooner. ↩
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Blizzard: Create a Name of Your Own in WoW: Forever. Two-part names, regional uniqueness, conduct rules, and the nameplate option. ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4
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r/wowforever, September 27, 2026: names across rulesets. A beta player's report and the replies under it. Community commentary. ↩
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Blizzard, updated October 16: Forever stress test. October 21 test, and the wipe of stress-test characters, names, and guilds. ↩
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Kaivax on the official US forum, October 23, 2026. Beta closed; character creation to open October 27. ↩
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Blizzard: World of Warcraft: Forever GPU Requirements. Architecture cutoff, example cards, and the shader feature. ↩