World of Warcraft Announcements at BlizzCon 2026

BlizzCon 2026 took place on September 12–13 in Anaheim, announcing four major events at once in the world of World of Warcraft: a separate new branch, World of Warcraft: Forever, the final major update for the current expansion — 12.2 “Eclipse” — Remix: Wrath of the Lich King, and a teaser for the next expansion, The Last Titan. On top of that, the developers showed off the standalone game mode Talebound, expanded the list of race and class combinations, and went into detail about Season 3.

The biggest reveal of the show is that long-awaited “Classic+”. Its release is set for November 4, 2026, the beta opens on September 17, and access is included in the standard subscription. The maximum level stays at 60 forever: new stories are added not upward but outward. Forever exists in parallel with modern WoW and the Classic servers, replacing neither branch.

At launch, players will find new zones (Mount Hyjal, Riverglen, Isle of Zephras, Shen'dralas), more than a thousand new quests, nine new dungeons, and raids for 10 and 20 players. A new playable race, the Skyborn, is being added, which can join either faction, along with unusual combinations such as the dwarf shaman and the Forsaken paladin.

Also announced are a new battleground on the Darkspear Isles, reworked talents, updated graphics, and hardcore servers. For a detailed breakdown of everything new in Forever, see our separate article.

“Eclipse” will be the final major Midnight patch and will draw a line under the confrontation with Xal'atath: she is closing in on her goal — merging with the World Soul. The action unfolds in a new zone that is half azerite crystal and half titan complex. Players will need to band together with the local people and face the underground dwellers, who want no outsiders meddling in their affairs.

The patch will add a new three-boss dungeon whose final foe is a titan construct. The main challenge, however, is an eight-boss raid at the very core of the world: the last boss, as expected, will be Xal'atath, and she will drop a new legendary dagger for spellcasters. Before “Eclipse”, an interim patch 12.1.5 will arrive — already available on the test server — which, among other things, features a mini-raid.

The season starts shortly after “Eclipse” releases. The Mythic+ dungeon rotation looks like this:

• Traegar's Roost (new)
• The Grim Batol Terrace of the Masters
• Cinderbrew Meadery
• Uldaman: Legacy of Tyr
• The Blood Catacombs
• The Rookery
• The Iron Docks
• The Stonevault

All returning dungeons, including the Midnight dungeons, will go through polishing and targeted updates.

• Mythic+ will get a separate reward for the top 5% of players, and reward rating itself will be tracked not across all specializations but only within your own specialization.

• Delves will be updated: a new delve boss and modifiers that work on the familiar hunt principle. The hunt system itself will be expanded with new torments and a new difficulty level — “Agony”.

• Empowered variants of the visions from The War Within will appear in the open world, with details on them not yet revealed.

The ranks of paladins will grow noticeably: the class will become available to the Forsaken, Darkspear trolls, and night elves — the latter, incidentally, the developers have been teasing with this possibility ever since Legion. Forever has its own share of exotica: dwarf shamans, Forsaken paladins, and a new race that chooses its own faction.

The next Remix event after Mists of Pandaria and Legion will be Wrath of the Lich King, in which players will once again be able to relive the events of that expansion by visiting the expanses of Northrend. According to the roadmap, the event's launch is slated for summer 2027. No exact start date for the event has been announced.

Blizzard hinted at a “new experiment” back at PAX East, and now it has a name: Talebound. It's a roguelike action mode inside World of Warcraft, set in its own world, which can be played either solo or in a group. In the story, the character is abducted by a storyteller who has a soft spot for horror and makes the player the protagonist of his tales. There are four stories in all, and between runs players return to a shared hub.

The mode has its own classes: a melee fighter, an inquisitor wielding the magic of the Light, and a witch who unleashes poisons and hordes of toads. They can all double jump and roll. With each run the character accumulates talents, items, and abilities, and completing them grants cosmetic rewards. The mode will hit the test server in October.

• A showcase mode will be added, letting you show off your home to other players, plus themed events around it.
• Homes will allow placing mannequins and dressing them in any unlocked gear, choosing body type and poses.
• Copying and multi-selecting decor is finally coming — as is the ability to purchase more of items you already own straight from your home, without running around to vendors.
• Four new home activities will be added.

• A special calibration room will be added: there you can practice your rotation with advanced settings, including raid buffs.
• A separate progression path with rewards has been prepared for PvP.
• In patch 12.2.5, transmogrification will stop depending on armor type — you'll be able to wear whatever you like.

The twelfth expansion will be the finale of the World Soul saga and will return players to Northrend. Blizzard calls it the conclusion of two decades of Warcraft story — and, at the same time, the foundation for what comes next. Details will be shown early next year, after the events of “Eclipse”, with the release itself expected in 2027.

• Fall 2026

  • Update 12.1.5

    • Labyrinth mode for delves
    • Story campaign about Kith'ix
    • Mini-raid with Kith'ix
    • Aqiri invasions

  • Update 12.1.7 – "Echoes of the World's Core"

    • "Captive in a Fairytale" mode
    • Story campaign
    • Timewalking chapter about Thrall
    • "Turbulent Timeways" event
    • Winterspring update
• Winter 2026-2027
  • Update 12.2 – "Eclipse"
    • Story campaign
    • New location – The Mantle Vault
    • New dungeon – Traegar's Roost
    • New raid – The World's Core
    • New lair – The Mechanoreaper
    • New delves
    • Housing update
    • Paladin class for the Forsaken, night elves, and trolls
    • Legendary dagger for spellcasters
• Spring 2027
  • Presentation of the The Last Titan expansion
  • Update 12.2.5
    • New open-world event – Soul Storms
    • Story campaign
    • Transmogrification update
  • Update 12.2.7
    • Story campaign
    • A brief recap of the Midnight story
    • "Timewalking" update
    • Professions update
    • Midsummer Fire Festival update
• Summer 2027
  • Event: Remix: Wrath of the Lich King