World of Warcraft Forever unveiled at BlizzCon with new Skyborn race

Skyborn are a brand-new race created for World of Warcraft Forever. Resendez said the internal pitch for them was that "they have always been there, but players simply haven't looked up yet." Skyborn are exclusive to Forever for now and will not be added directly to retail or classic World of Warcraft. That exclusivity notwithstanding, design cross-pollination between teams is happening: the Skyborn art team’s white-and-blue palette was already used as a surface-blue color in retail WoW’s housing system months earlier as a visual hint. Blizzard also left open the possibility that mounts or collectible packs could be obtainable in both retail and Forever in future releases.

The subtitle "Forever" carries a literal promise in Resendez’s words: to give players "a place to come back to" whenever they want. Rather than advancing the 2004 timeline upward, the team is pursuing what Resendez described as horizontal expansion inside Azeroth — adding new locales and untold stories that sit alongside, not overwrite, established canon. The team framed several of the design choices as responses to long-running community requests. One example is the removal of strict faction-class locks: the game will offer class-race combinations previously impossible in classic—Resendez noted examples such as undead paladins and dwarf shamans—giving players more freedom to match race and class fantasy while remaining careful to preserve the franchise’s established lore flavor.

Hyjal Mountain is being reimagined inside Forever as a recover­ing region after Archimonde’s defeat. Resendez asked players to think of the relationship to retail and classic as a "time bubble": Forever uses the 2004 launch as its anchor point but then adds creative, self-contained events that don't destroy major story branches or character essences from retail/classic. Hyjal will appear visually and narratively different in Forever, and it will host new incidents unique to the Forever timeline. That new regional approach includes a 20-player raid built around Hyjal, presented as a fresh chapter rather than a retread of already-resolved retail story beats.

Raids in Forever will run in two fixed sizes: 10-player and 20-player variants. The team is not introducing a variable-size scaling system; difficulty will change by the set group size rather than through adaptive scaling. Convenience tools such as a party finder and an improved '/who' search will be available, but Resendez emphasized that recruiting and organizing will retain the more hands-on, social feel of classic-era servers—intentional friction and player negotiation are part of the design. Blizzard will not provide system-level World First support or official in-game achievements specifically to drive the World First race; the studio expects community-driven competition and the moments that arise organically from it.

Accessibility and new-player onboarding received concrete mechanical work. Forever will adjust stats and difficulty tuning to lower early barriers, and controller support will be added officially to broaden input options for players who prefer gamepad play. The team is focusing on growth and exploration as the primary loop—Resendez described a new "Romance" system that grants benefits when leveling alts, designed to make repeat character progression less punishing and to encourage field-based leveling rather than rushing to endgame. Resendez also highlighted updated lighting and water effects that made Azeroth visually richer during internal playtests, prompting frequent screenshots among the developers.

Design discipline is a stated priority: Resendez contrasted the Forever expansion’s changes with earlier, more experimental features like Discovery Seasons. Rather than wholesale rule-breaking, the team plans careful, lore-aware expansions: selective class-and-race combos, region-specific IF stories, and content hooks that will link into upcoming Warcraft 3 Reforged additions. Resendez said specific quests and cross-title connections will surface over time so players can directly experience those ties between Forever and other Warcraft releases.