News · WORLD OF WARCRAFT: FOREVER
WoW: Forever bans GDKP at launch
Blizzard’s third version of WoW launches on 4 November 2026, banning GDKP raids and promising aggressive action against real-money gold buyers.
November launch follows September beta
World of Warcraft: Forever will launch on 4 November 2026. Blizzard is introducing it as a standalone third version of WoW alongside Modern, also known as Retail, and Classic. Its beta is scheduled to run from 17 September through 21 October 2026.
Blizzard rules out GDKP raids
GDKP raids will not be allowed in WoW: Forever, Senior Game Designer Josh Greenfield confirmed during the official developer Q&A on 17 September 2026.
Blizzard also said it would closely monitor the in-game economy and punish players who buy gold with real money “very aggressively”. PC Gamer reports that Greenfield warned players they could permanently lose their WoW account. However, no fixed penalty schedule or automatic permanent ban for every first offence has been confirmed.
Beta conveniences and mounts unconfirmed
Other findings from the beta are not guaranteed launch features. Wowhead observed unlooted instance drops being delivered by mail through the “Steamwheedle Lost and Found”, including when players’ bags were full. Blizzard has not officially confirmed the feature.
Wowhead also found 37 mount entries while datamining the beta client. Some models, names and availability details remain encrypted and may change. Their presence in the client does not confirm that the mounts will be released.