Does WoW Forever beta progress carry over, and when does the beta end?
Blizzard's WoW Forever beta dates, the October 21 Stress Test wipe, the October 23 beta close and what Blizzard has not said about beta characters at launch.
The quick answer
Blizzard has not said whether beta characters carry over to launch. It said all Stress Test characters, including names, would be deleted, and that it planned to close the beta at 10:00 a.m. PDT on October 23, 2026. Launch is November 4 at 3:00 p.m. PST.
Guide details and editorial record
- For
- Beta testers and players deciding how much to invest in beta characters before WoW Forever launches
- Game version
- World of Warcraft: Forever; Blizzard beta announcement, official Forever page and community manager posts through October 20 checked October 23, 2026, before the scheduled beta close. Exact client build not published.
Responsible editor: Max · Editorial record: medium risk · desk review · AI assistance: draft
Blizzard has not published a rule for what happens to beta characters at launch. What it has published is narrower: the Stress Test characters were to be deleted with their names, and a community manager set the beta’s close for 10:00 a.m. PDT on Friday, October 23, 2026. Launch is November 4 at 3:00 p.m. PST.
When does the WoW Forever beta end?
Blizzard’s beta announcement of September 17 says the beta “begins September 17 and is available through October 21.” The footnote on the official Forever page still gives the same window. A later community manager post of October 20 changed the end.
| Date | What Blizzard says |
|---|---|
| September 17 | Beta begins for opted-in players and buyers of eligible bundles |
| October 21 | Blizzard takes the beta offline and runs a Stress Test on regional hardware, 2:00 to 6:00 p.m. PDT in the Americas (19:00 to 03:00 CEST in the EU) |
| October 23, 10:00 a.m. PDT | Blizzard plans to close the beta “forever” after reopening it |
| October 27 to November 3 | Early name reservation, listed as a benefit of all three paid packs |
| November 4, 3:00 p.m. PST | Global launch |
The October 23 close is 1:00 p.m. EDT, 18:00 BST and 19:00 CEST. This guide was checked on October 23 before that time, so it cannot say whether the close happened as planned. Blizzard’s own forum threads and the Battle.net launcher are the places to see the current state. The release, beta and price guide keeps the pack contents and the wider launch dates.
Do WoW Forever beta characters carry over?
None of the Blizzard pages checked says that beta characters are kept at launch, and none says they are deleted. The only deletion Blizzard has announced is for the Stress Test. The October 15 announcement says that when Blizzard shuts the Stress Test down, “all characters will be deleted” and adds: “This is a complete wipe; names and everything else will be completely removed.” The October 20 post narrows the wording to “all Stress Test characters, including names”, and says Blizzard will then reopen the beta.
Both posts describe characters created for the Stress Test. Neither says what happens to a character made earlier on a beta realm. The checked sources contain no statement on beta-earned gear, names or Legacy Points surviving to launch.
The development notes mark a few beta effects as temporary:
- On September 24, the 1 silver talent respec is “temporary for the Beta only.”
- On October 8, every beta player was granted completion of the Legacy Challenge, which awards 16 Legacy Points “to fully test out the system.” The reduced Legacy respec cost “only applies during the Beta.” The notes do not say whether the points remain.
Treat anything earned in the beta as unpromised until Blizzard posts a rule. Realm First’s report on a Wowhead-sourced interview covers a secondhand claim that everyone starts at level 1 at launch. It is not a Blizzard statement and this guide does not rely on it.
Names and launch
The official page says early name reservation runs from October 27 through November 3 and offers “an early opportunity to reserve names for up to three characters.” Its footnote ties the benefit to the specific WoW account that bought a pack and says names are first come, first served and cannot be guaranteed. The beta announcement and these posts do not say that a beta name holds a launch name.
Blizzard’s What’s Next recap gives the launch as November 4, 2026, at 3:00 p.m. PST.