World of Warcraft: Forever was finally released into the wild yesterday, and it's safe to say it already stands as one of Blizzard's best launches – if not the best - according to fans.
Although the Beta has been available to play for some time now (if you've paid at least $30 to access it and the controversial Skyborne race, that is), the MMO didn't launch in full until this week – and boy, is it leaving its mark already.
The World of Warcraft subreddit proves as much, with one poster describing how the "WoW: Forever launch is the smoothest WoW launch I have ever played," and many others like it.
WoW Forever launch is the smoothest WoW launch I have ever played.from r/wow
Over on X, developers themselves have taken note of this sentiment, with World of Warcraft executive producer and vice president Holly Longdale writing, "At the risk of jinxing things, so far so goodish which is crazy by itself. The team prepared a lot since the wildness of Beta. And this launch was crazier than the insanity we imagined but thankfully the team built plans and contingencies. They are incredible imo."
At the risk of jinxing things, so far so goodish which is crazy by itself. The team prepared a lot since the wildness of Beta. And this launch was crazier than the insanity we imagined but thankfully the team built plans and contingencies. They are incredible imo. 😲 #WoWForeverNovember 5, 2026
She's not wrong. Blizzard has been hard at work on its spin-off MMO, having recently announced some class changes and saying, "our aim in class design is not perfect numerical equality," with promises to introduce more "over the course of the months and years ahead."
Before that, there were racial ability tweaks and other adjustments, too. It's been a process, to say the least, and Longdale isn't alone in acknowledging it from the dev side.
Senior game designer Josh Greenfield is celebrating it and WoW: Forever's successful launch thus far as well with his own post.
Long day but great day today! A few things to catch folks up on: 1. Transports - we had some issues with the service that manages transports like boats and zeppelins. As a temp fix we spawned some portals to get us through the night. We’ll have a proper fix in the morning and the portals will be removed. 2. Layer populations - we are aware some zones feel more empty than they should. Tomorrow we’ll be tweaking some numbers to make things feel more lively. Sit tight! Thanks for everyone making this a great, super smooth launch! I’m going to head home and “go to sleep” now. Yep, sleeping. Totally not playing WoW Forever until 3am. Nope.November 5, 2026
"Long day but great day today," it reads, with the dev going on to reveal that Blizzard's work is far from over. After all, a successful launch doesn't mean a perfect one.
First, he notes, "We had some issues with the service that manages transports like boats and zeppelins," which led to a "temp fix." This saw Blizzard spawn "some portals to get us through the night," but a proper fix is coming.
Then, there's the issue of population. "We are aware some zones feel more empty than they should," as Greenfield writes. "Tomorrow we'll be tweaking some numbers to make things feel more lively."
He then thanks folks for "making this a great, super smooth launch" – and it's evident, again, that folks largely feel the same on that point.
Heck, the top comment exclaims it's the "smoothest WoW launch ever," declaring Blizzard "crushed it!" Others say devs "knocked it out of the park," and I'd be inclined to agree.
