World of Warcraft: Forever just concluded “the largest beta in franchise history” according to Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella.
Nadella said this on today’s Microsoft Q1 earnings call, but did not provide further context. Forever‘s beta was accessible by any player who pre-purchased one of the Forever premium bundles, which started at $60. This isn’t necessarily an indicator of sales numbers, though, as you could also sign up to participate in the beta for free, and Blizzard had full control over how many people were given access that way. There was also a free stress test day, and it’s unclear if Nadella’s assessment also includes that.
Regardless of such context, it’s a notable milestone. Blizzard has recently bundled beta access with both The War Within and Midnight expansions, opening it up to players who want to pay for it. Previously, it was purely an opt-in-and-pray-Blizzard-picks-you process.
Unofficial tool ClassicPlus.io suggests that over one million characters were created during the beta, and developer Josh Greenfield called the turnout, “The craziest numbers I’ve seen in 17 years working at Blizzard and almost 8 years on classic.”
Man, it was hard to sleep last night, I was so excited. Beta has been… crazy. The craziest numbers I’ve seen in 17 years working at Blizzard and almost 8 years on classic.
We’ve got 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 a sort of “alternate universe” World of Warcraft, set 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 through October 23, and the full game launches on November 4, available to anyone with an existing World of Warcraft subscription. The release has been highly anticipated by the community, following high praise both for the original World of Warcraft: Classic launch several years ago as well as the popular Season of Discovery game mode within it, that served as a sort of proto-WoW: Forever for a limited time. I played in the beta, and I also think it’s pretty great.
