WoW Forever Launch Time by Country (Nov 4, 2026)

QUICK ANSWER WoW Forever opens on Wednesday, November 4, 2026 at 3:00 PM PST. That is 6:00 PM EST in New York, 11:00 PM in London, midnight in Berlin and Paris, and 10:00 AM on Thursday in Sydney. Everyone gets in at the same moment.

World of Warcraft: Forever does not roll out by region. Blizzard set one start time for the whole world. The hard part is finding what that means on your clock, so we did the math for the biggest player countries below.

At a Glance

Detail	Info
Launch date	Wednesday, November 4, 2026
Launch time	3:00 PM PST (11:00 PM UTC)
Cost	Included with a WoW subscription or Game Time
Platforms	PC and Mac
Servers	No realms. You pick a ruleset
Rulesets at launch	Normal, PvP, Roleplaying, Roleplay-PvP
Level cap	60
Name reservation	Ends November 3 (pack buyers only)
First raids	December 9

Launch Time in Your Country

Launch is 11:00 PM UTC. All times below are for Wednesday, November 4, unless the Day column says Thursday.

North America

Place	Time Zone	Launch Time	Day
US West (Los Angeles, Seattle)	PST	3:00 PM	Wed, Nov 4
US Mountain (Denver, Phoenix)	MST	4:00 PM	Wed, Nov 4
US Central (Chicago, Dallas)	CST	5:00 PM	Wed, Nov 4
US East (New York, Atlanta)	EST	6:00 PM	Wed, Nov 4
Canada West (Vancouver)	PST	3:00 PM	Wed, Nov 4
Canada East (Toronto)	EST	6:00 PM	Wed, Nov 4
Mexico (Mexico City)	CST	5:00 PM	Wed, Nov 4

South America

Place	Time Zone	Launch Time	Day
Brazil (Sao Paulo, Rio)	BRT	8:00 PM	Wed, Nov 4

Europe

Place	Time Zone	Launch Time	Day
UK and Ireland (London, Dublin)	GMT	11:00 PM	Wed, Nov 4
Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Netherlands, Poland	CET	12:00 AM	Thu, Nov 5
Greece, Finland, Romania	EET	1:00 AM	Thu, Nov 5

Asia and Pacific

Place	Time Zone	Launch Time	Day
South Korea (Seoul)	KST	8:00 AM	Thu, Nov 5
Taiwan (Taipei)	CST	7:00 AM	Thu, Nov 5
Australia East (Sydney, Melbourne)	AEDT	10:00 AM	Thu, Nov 5
Australia Queensland (Brisbane)	AEST	9:00 AM	Thu, Nov 5
Australia West (Perth)	AWST	7:00 AM	Thu, Nov 5
New Zealand (Auckland)	NZDT	12:00 PM	Thu, Nov 5

Tip: Your place is not listed? Start with 11:00 PM UTC, then add your UTC offset. Japan is UTC+9, so launch is 8:00 AM Thursday.

Is It November 4 or November 5?

Both are right, and that is why you will see two dates online.

• In the Americas, launch lands on Wednesday, November 4.
• In most of Europe, Asia and Australia, the clock has already passed midnight, so it is Thursday, November 5.
• It is one launch. Some sites just print the date from their own time zone.

Tip: Clocks have already changed in the US (November 1) and in Europe (October 25), so you do not need to adjust for daylight saving. Blizzard says PST, and the US West Coast is on standard time that day, so PST and your local Pacific time match.

Do This Before Launch

• Check your access. WoW Forever is included with a WoW subscription or Game Time. You do not need a pack to play. Only the new Skyborne race needs the Skyborne Heroic Pack ($29.99) or higher.
• Pick the right account. Own more than one WoW account? In the Battle.net app, choose the one with active game time. A wrong pick gives you an access error (WOW51900337).
• Look for the install early. Blizzard has not said if you can pre-download. Open the Battle.net app, find the Forever page, and install or update if it shows up.
• Pick a ruleset ahead of time. There are no realms. You choose Normal, PvP, Roleplaying or Roleplay-PvP, and you cannot switch later without making a new character. Hardcore comes after launch with no date yet.
• Think about your name. Early name reservation ends November 3 and only works for pack buyers, up to 3 names. Everyone else makes characters at launch. Each name has a first and last part, and the pair must be unique in your region.
• Clear your evening. Do not schedule anything tight around launch. Players hit login trouble on the first night of name reservation.

What to Expect on Launch Night

• Expect a long login queue. Blizzard has not announced queue limits. The no-realm setup is meant to ease long waits, but plan for some.
• Stay in the queue. If you see a queue message, wait it out. Logging out and back in can cost you your spot.
• Greyed-out rulesets. If every ruleset shows as unavailable, it is a server-side problem. Wait a few minutes and reconnect.
• Access errors. Switch to the WoW account that owns your game time, as covered above.

Key Dates

Date	What Happens
November 3	Early name reservation ends (pack buyers)
November 4, 3:00 PM PST	WoW Forever launches worldwide
December 9	First raids open for level 60 characters
After launch	Hardcore ruleset, no date announced

FAQ

What time does WoW Forever launch? Wednesday, November 4, 2026 at 3:00 PM PST, which is 11:00 PM UTC.

Does it launch at the same time for everyone? Yes. Blizzard calls it a global launch. Only the clock on your wall changes.

Is WoW Forever free? It is included with a WoW subscription or Game Time. You do not buy it separately. The Skyborne race is the one paid extra.

Can I play before November 4? Not in the live game. Name reservation lets pack buyers claim names until November 3, but play starts at launch.

Can I pre-download WoW Forever? Blizzard has not confirmed it. Check the Forever page in the Battle.net app.

Will there be a queue? Blizzard has not announced queue limits. Expect one on launch night, just in case.

Do I need to pick a server? No. There are no realms. You pick a ruleset, and each ruleset is one shared world for your region.

When do the raids open? December 9, for level 60 characters.