On October 13, ‘WoW: Forever – Stress Test’ appeared in the Battle.net launcher's WoW version list with an October 19 date. The client is already available to download and, according to Warcraft Tavern, the option is visible even on accounts without beta access. There is no official announcement yet, but this looks like the promised Server Slam, when servers will open to everyone for a few hours.
What appeared in the launcher
The World of Warcraft version list in Battle.net now includes ‘WoW: Forever – Stress Test’, dated Monday, October 19. You can download the client in advance to avoid waiting on test day. Icy Veins and Warcraft Tavern report that players without a beta invitation can also see the option.
According to the wago.tools build tracker, the stress-test version appeared on Blizzard's servers on the evening of October 13. It uses the October 8 beta build rather than the latest client build. This information comes from the files; Blizzard has not commented on it.
What we know and what we do not
In its September 17 beta launch article, Blizzard promised a Server Slam: servers would open to anyone interested for a few hours, with details to follow closer to the date. Fan sites believe October 19 will be that test. As of October 15, however, Blizzard has published neither an article nor a forum post about it.
- The start time and duration are unknown.
- It is not known whether Europe will open at the same time as the Americas.
- Access for players without beta invitations has not been officially confirmed, although they can see the option in the launcher.
Other dates on the calendar
The beta runs until October 21, Pacific Time. Name reservations run from October 27 to November 3, and the game launches on November 4 at 3:00 p.m. Pacific Time: 23:00 UTC, or midnight going into November 5 in Berlin. The launch-time guide calculates the launch time in your time zone.