The WoW Forever beta runs two days longer than planned. The original announcement treated October 21 as the end, but Blizzard confirmed that once today’s free stress test shuts down, the beta reopens and closes for good at 10:00 a.m. PDT on Friday, October 23.
What changed
When Blizzard opened the beta on September 17, it named October 21 as the last full day of testing. The official stress test post now says otherwise: when the test ends, Blizzard reopens the beta, and closes it for good at 10:00 a.m. PDT on Friday, October 23 (17:00 UTC).
In short:
- Today, October 21: the beta pauses for the free stress test, open to any WoW account.
- When the test shuts down (01:00 UTC on the 22nd): the beta returns.
- Friday, October 23: the beta closes for good.
Closing time by region
| Region | Beta closes (Friday, Oct 23) |
|---|---|
| Americas (Pacific) | 10:00 a.m. PDT |
| Americas (Central) | 12:00 p.m. CDT |
| Americas (Eastern) | 1:00 p.m. EDT |
| UK and Ireland | 18:00 BST/IST |
| Europe (Central) | 19:00 CEST |
Who can play these two days
The beta is still for players who already had access: buyers of the Skyborne Epic Pack or the Warcraft Forever Collection, plus invited testers. The Heroic Pack does not include it; see our price and subscription guide for the differences between packs.
If you do not have access, the only free way to play before launch is today’s stress test. Here is how to join, step by step.
Characters you create in the stress test do not carry over to the beta: Blizzard deletes all of them, names included, when the test ends.
What comes next
- October 27 to November 3: name reservation and character creation for pack owners.
- November 4: WoW Forever launch.
- November 4 to 11: Invite-A-Friend codes let anyone who receives one play for free.
In the meantime, get your character ready: pick a class with the tier list and plan your first points in the talent calculator.
About this story
The closing date and time come from Community Manager Kaivax’s posts on the official WoW Forever beta forums. October 22 update: Blizzard announced a 24-hour end-of-beta celebration in the starting zones, with epics and legendaries in the loot. We cover it in WoW Forever beta chaos. If the date changes, we will update this page.
Sources and data status
Sources reviewed October 22, 2026. Beta details can change; each reference is labeled by source type.