World of Warcraft: Forever just concluded “the largest beta in franchise history” according to Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella.
Nadella said this during Microsoft’s first-quarter earnings conference call, but did not provide additional context. ForeverThe beta version of was accessible to any player who had pre-purchased one of the Forever premium plans, which started at $60. However, this isn’t necessarily an indicator of sales figures, as you can also sign up to participate in the beta for free, and Blizzard had complete control over how many people had access this way. There was also a free stress test day, and it’s unclear if Nadella’s assessment includes that as well.
Whatever the context, this is an important step. Blizzard recently bundled beta access with the Internal war And Midnight expansions, opening it up to players who want to pay for it. Previously, it was simply a process of joining and praying that Blizzard would choose you.
The unofficial tool ClassicPlus.io suggests that more than a million characters were created during the beta, and developer Josh Greenfield called that number “the craziest numbers I’ve seen in 17 years of working at Blizzard and almost 8 years on Classic.”
Man, it was hard to sleep last night, I was so excited. The beta has been…crazy. The craziest numbers I’ve seen in 17 years of working at Blizzard and almost 8 years on Classic.
We have something really special here.
— Josh Greenfield (@AggrendWoW) September 18, 2026
World of Warcraft: Forever was announced at BlizzCon earlier this year after months of rumors as some sort of alternate universe. World of Warcraftset in the world of the original game but taking different twists and turns with its plot, mechanics, and content. The beta ran from September 17 to October 23, and the full game will launch on November 4, available to anyone with an existing account. World of Warcraft subscription. The release was highly anticipated by the community, following widespread praise for both the original World of Warcraft Classic launched several years ago as well as the popular Season of Discovery game mode, which served as a sort of proto-WoW: forever for a limited time. I played the beta and I also think it’s pretty awesome.
Gn tech
