World of Warcraft: Forever Devs Explain Why the Game Makes WoW 2 Unlikely

At BlizzCon 2026, World of Warcraft: Forever, a Classic+ iteration of the long-running franchise, was announced. The game's developers, Kris Zierhut, Principal Designer, and Mike Nuthals, Lead Encounter Designer, revealed their reasons for not considering a WoW 2. Zierhut emphasizes the continuous development of the game over 25 years, with continuous improvements in graphics, rendering, lighting, server efficiency, and combat.

He also highlights the investment in the story of the current WoW universe, preferring to explore it in new and different ways rather than starting from scratch. Nuthals and Zierhut present several key features of World of Warcraft: Forever, including updated world visuals and lighting, 10 and 20-player raids, over 1,000 new quests, new race and class combinations, a new Skyborne race, and more.

Nuthals is particularly excited about the itemization pass for dungeons and raids, while Zierhut is most eager for players to discover new nooks and crannies, cool loot, and enjoy the social aspects of the game. They emphasize that World of Warcraft: Forever will stay true to the original's lore and feel, with only slight differences in the story sequence, ensuring a cohesive experience for classic WoW players. World of Warcraft: Forever launches on November 4.