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Where things go once the news has moved on. The headline facts as we first gathered them, and every entry the site has published. The current picture is on Everything we know and the news.

Everything we know, in brief

Checked 2026-09-17

The headline facts of the announcement week, each with its tag and source, as they opened the front page from BlizzCon until the beta's first week. Kept as they were checked on ; anything that changed since is in the news.

Key dates

  1. Sept 12–13 BlizzCon 2026. Announced, playable on the show floor.
  2. Sept 17 Beta opened, right after Blizzard’s live Q&A. Runs through October 21.
  3. Oct 27 – Nov 3 Early Name Reservation, paid editions.
  4. Nov 4 Launch, 3:00 p.m. PST.
  5. Dec 9 New raids unlock: Barrow Deeps (10) and Hyjal Summit (20).

The headlines

  1. 01

    Included with an existing subscription or Game Time. Nothing to buy unless you want the Skyborne race, beta access or name reservation.

    Confirmed Blizzard — BlizzCon 2026 announcement Blizzard — pre-purchase post
  2. 02

    Set in WoW’s first year. Level cap 60 “for the foreseeable future”, with new content across all levels.

    Confirmed Blizzard — BlizzCon 2026 announcement PC Gamer
  3. 03

    New zones: Mount Hyjal, Shen’dralas and the Riverglades (nearly 200 quests, reached by a new ship route), plus Zephras Isle for the Skyborne, with several existing zones overhauled and 1,000+ new quests.

    Confirmed Blizzard — What’s Next panel recap Blizzard — Found Photos panel recap Wowhead — New Zones Game Informer
  4. 04

    Nine new dungeons at launch, all named by Blizzard, from the Hall of Thanes to the Shaper’s Terrace. New raids unlock December 9: Barrow Deeps (10-player) and Hyjal Summit (20-player).

    Confirmed Blizzard — What’s Next panel recap Wowhead — Dungeons and Raids
  5. 05

    New race: the Skyborne Elves. They pick Horde or Alliance at creation, which adds Shaman or Mage to their class list. Requires the Skyborne Heroic Pack or higher.

    Confirmed Blizzard — What’s Next panel recap Blizzard — BlizzCon 2026 announcement Wowhead — Skyborne First Look
  6. 06

    A new 15v15 battleground, the Darkspear Islands. Camping: craftable campfires other players join and share buffs from. HD or SD character models, restored Classic animations, and gamepad support.

    Confirmed Blizzard — What’s Next panel recap
  7. 07

    Six new race and class combinations: Gnome Priest, Human Hunter, Dwarf Shaman, Orc Mage, Troll Warlock and Undead Paladin, with more planned. Plus account-wide Legacy perks, two-part names and optional transmog.

    Confirmed Blizzard — Deep Dive panel recap Battle.net Shop
  8. 08

    No realms. You pick a ruleset instead: Normal, PvP, Roleplaying, or Hardcore after launch; switching needs a character transfer, battlegrounds are shared, and a full name is held once per region. Hit and crit chances are merged into one stat each, and 600+ new recipes join the professions.

    Confirmed Blizzard — Deep Dive panel recap Wowhead — Live Q&A liveblog
  9. 09

    Every raid tier brings a 10-player and a 20-player raid, with one difficulty and no flexible size at launch; 40-player raids return with Onyxia’s Lair, though not every tier. Molten Core opens later, not at launch, and every boss carries a rare “chase” drop.

    Confirmed Blizzard — Live Q&A, September 17 Wowhead — Live Q&A liveblog The Sun — interview with Kris Zierhut and Michael Nuthals
  10. 10

    GDKP raids are not allowed, and Blizzard says it will be far harsher on gold buyers than before. There is no rated PvP: a 14-rank Honor track resets each patch cycle instead.

    Confirmed Blizzard — Live Q&A, September 17 Wowhead — Live Q&A liveblog Kotaku — interview on Forever’s systems

Every news entry

71 entries

The news page shows the last 30 days. Everything the site has published is here, newest first, each with its trust tag; the sources are on the entry's page.

September 2026