World of Warcraft: Forever’s early character-name reservation window begins October 27, 2026, and ends November 3. This is a chance for eligible players to prepare their identities before the November 4 launch—not an early opening of the full game. Blizzard has now published separate opening times for each region, along with a limit that is easy to miss if your group plans multiple characters.
The key details: three reserved characters per eligible account across all rulesets, a new two-part naming system, and ruleset choices that can affect whether you and your friends can play together.
When does name reservation open?
Blizzard lists the following regional start times. These are regional service times, not a single universal launch hour:
| Region | Local opening time | UTC equivalent |
|---|---|---|
| Europe | October 27, 18:00 CET | October 27, 17:00 UTC |
| North America | October 27, 1:00 p.m. PDT | October 27, 20:00 UTC |
| Korea | October 28, 07:00 KST | October 27, 22:00 UTC |
| Taiwan | October 28, 07:00 CST | October 27, 23:00 UTC |
For readers in Israel, that is 19:00 on October 27 for the European region or 22:00 on October 27 for North America. Your account’s region matters more than your physical location. These are the announced opening times; availability and queues should be checked in Battle.net when the window begins.
Who can reserve names?
Blizzard says early reservation is included with eligible World of Warcraft: Forever digital upgrades: the Skyborne Heroic Pack, Skyborne Epic Pack and limited-time Warcraft Forever Collection. The company also lists the Collector’s Edition as eligible. The benefit applies to the specific WoW account on which the qualifying purchase was made.
The distinction matters if you are buying for launch: Forever itself is included with an active World of Warcraft subscription or game time on November 4. An optional upgrade is not required to play the standard launch experience, but a qualifying purchase is required for this earlier name-reservation window. Check the official edition details before spending money just to claim a name.
Three characters total—not three per ruleset
The temporary early-reservation cap is three characters in total across all rulesets. Reserving two names on PvP leaves only one reservation for Normal or Roleplaying. Blizzard explicitly says this three-character restriction applies to Early Name Reservation, not the game’s permanent character limit.
That makes a quick group conversation useful. If you plan to level together, decide your faction and ruleset before using your limited early slots. Blizzard’s ruleset system is not simply a list of interchangeable old-style realms: characters on different rulesets cannot join the same dungeon or raid groups. On the PvP ruleset, Blizzard also restricts character creation to one faction within that ruleset.
Roleplay-PvP is scheduled for launch, and Blizzard said on October 22 that it planned to include that ruleset in early name reservation. Check the actual options when the client opens rather than assuming a promised ruleset is already selectable. Our Normal, PvP and RP ruleset explainer covers the group restrictions in more detail.
Why a two-part name changes the race
Forever characters use a first name and a secondary name. The complete combination must be unique within a region, rather than requiring every player to have a unique first name by itself. That gives groups more ways to keep familiar first names while choosing different surnames.
For example, two characters could share the first name Ashen if their complete names differ and pass Blizzard’s naming rules. A guild could plan a shared second-name theme, but every complete combination still needs to be available. Blizzard says players can hide their own secondary name on world nameplates through Options → Nameplates → My Secondary Name; it will still appear in chat.
Reservations are first-come, first-served. Prepare several acceptable combinations and spellings, and avoid names that break Blizzard’s naming policy. No specific name is guaranteed.
How to prepare the client
Blizzard’s published process is straightforward:
- Install or update the Battle.net desktop app and update your graphics drivers.
- Select World of Warcraft in Battle.net.
- In the Game Version selector above Play, choose World of Warcraft: Forever and install it.
- Once your region’s reservation window opens, select Play, choose the intended ruleset, and create up to three eligible characters with your preferred names.
If you are playing with friends, agree on the ruleset and faction first, then check each character’s full two-part name before confirming. Reserving a name is not a substitute for the subscription or game time needed to play when Forever launches.
What comes next: Blizzard schedules the full launch for November 4, 2026. See our launch overview for access and features, and the WoW: Forever game hub for ongoing verified coverage. The dates, eligibility and steps above come from Blizzard’s linked announcements, not an independently observed live reservation session.