World of Warcraft Forever Beta Population Cap Raised Again After Heavy Demand

Blizzard has increased the World of Warcraft: Forever beta population cap for a second time as more players continue to enter the test.

World of Warcraft executive producer Holly Longdale confirmed the latest increase on September 27, less than two weeks after the beta opened. Blizzard has not revealed the original cap, how much additional capacity has been added or the total number of players currently taking part.

Demand was already putting pressure on the beta shortly after it opened on September 17.

Senior game designer Josh Greenfield described the beta as producing the "craziest numbers" he had seen in 17 years working at Blizzard. The team subsequently expanded the beta population cap, with Longdale now confirming that another increase has been required.

Blizzard has also been working through separate problems affecting access. A recent issue could cause the login queue to fill after players disconnected, which the development team says has since been fixed.

The company has not specified whether the second population increase applies equally across regions, leaving the scale of the expansion unclear.

The turnout comes with Blizzard offering more than one way into the test.

Selected players can receive beta invitations after opting in through Blizzard, while guaranteed access is included with the Skyborne Epic Pack and the limited-time Warcraft Forever Collection. The cheaper Skyborne Heroic Pack does not include beta access.

Those paid bundles are optional upgrades rather than a requirement to play World of Warcraft: Forever when it launches. The game itself will be available through an active World of Warcraft subscription or game time.

Blizzard has not disclosed how many beta participants entered through purchased access compared with regular invitations, so the population increases cannot be directly attributed to either group.

The beta remains available through October 21, with Blizzard gradually adding more content as testing continues.

Players currently have access to the Skyborne starting experience, content through level 20 and two new dungeons. The level cap is scheduled to rise to 30 later in the test, alongside additional zones, dungeons and a new battleground.

Blizzard also plans to open the servers to everyone for several hours during a future Server Slam, regardless of whether they received an invitation or purchased an eligible bundle. The date for that test has not yet been announced.

The Server Slam will temporarily remove the normal invitation or eligible-bundle requirement, allowing a wider group of players into the beta before testing ends.