WoW Forever needs at least a Windows 10 64-bit PC with a four-core 3.0 GHz processor, a DirectX 12 graphics card with 4 GB such as a GeForce GTX 10 series, 8 GB of RAM and an SSD with 128 GB free. On Mac, the minimum is macOS 12 with an Apple M2 or a 9th-generation Intel Core. Here are the minimum and recommended specs Blizzard lists on the Battle.net Shop, and the older graphics cards that lose support when the game launches.
Minimum and recommended specs on PC
|
Minimum |
Recommended |
| System |
Windows 10 64-bit (May 2019 Update or newer) |
Windows 11 |
| Processor |
4 cores at 3.0 GHz: Intel Core Haswell or AMD Ryzen Zen |
8 performance cores, 5.2 GHz boost: Intel Core Ultra (Series 2) or AMD Ryzen Zen 5 |
| Graphics |
DirectX 12, 4 GB: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 10 series, AMD RDNA 1 or Intel Iris Xe2-LPG (Lunar Lake) |
DirectX 12, 8 GB: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 40 series, AMD RDNA 3 or Intel Arc B-Series |
| Memory |
8 GB |
16 GB |
| Storage |
SSD, 128 GB available |
SSD, 128 GB available |
Both columns also ask for a broadband connection and a display of at least 1280 × 720. A keyboard and mouse are required, and Blizzard recommends a multi-button mouse with a scroll wheel. Storage is the one line that does not change: even at the minimum, Blizzard lists a solid-state drive.
On Mac
|
Minimum |
Recommended |
| System |
macOS 12 |
macOS 15 |
| Processor |
Apple M2 or 9th-generation Intel Core (Coffee Lake) |
Apple M4 |
| Graphics |
Metal-capable GPU with 4 GB (Apple M2 with 8 GB) |
Apple M4 with 16 GB |
| Memory |
8 GB |
16 GB |
| Storage |
SSD, 128 GB available |
SSD, 128 GB available |
The connection, display and input requirements are the same as on PC. Blizzard lists the M2 as the minimum Apple chip, so a Mac with an M1 sits below the official specs.
Older graphics cards lose support at launch
On top of the minimum specs, WoW Forever sets a hard floor. From launch, your graphics card must be based on one of these architectures, or a newer one:
- AMD Graphics Core Next 1 (2012)
- NVIDIA Maxwell (2014)
- Intel Skylake (2015)
Blizzard's examples of cards that are no longer supported are the AMD Radeon HD 6950 (2010), the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 760, 770, 780 and GTX 8xxM (2014), and Intel HD Graphics 6000 (2015). With one of those, you have to upgrade your GPU before playing.
Cards that clear the floor, such as the Radeon HD 7850, the GeForce GTX 9xx series and GTX 750 or 750 Ti, or Intel HD Graphics 530, are not cut off, but Blizzard stresses that they remain well below the game's minimum requirements. The reason for the floor is WoW Forever's new visual look: it relies on a GPU feature that appeared around 2012, RGBA16F UAV support in compute shaders. According to Blizzard, the vast majority of players already use compatible hardware.
How to check your graphics card
On Windows, Blizzard suggests two ways to find your GPU's make and model:
- Open Settings, select System, then Display, and choose Advanced display.
- Or open Device Manager and expand Display adapters.
Then compare it with the lists above. A GeForce GTX 10 series, an AMD RDNA 1 card or anything newer meets the minimum, while a card older than the three architectures is no longer supported. On a Mac, About This Mac in the Apple menu shows the chip.
What else you need to play
- A World of Warcraft subscription or Game Time, which includes WoW Forever. The Skyborne Epic Pack and the Warcraft Forever Collection add 30 days of Game Time, credited at launch.
- The Skyborne Heroic Pack or a bigger upgrade to play the new race, covered in our Skyborne guide.
- An internet connection, a Battle.net account and the Battle.net desktop app.
WoW Forever launches worldwide on November 4 at 3 p.m. PST (23:00 UTC). If you are in the beta, which runs until October 21, it is the simplest way to see how your PC handles the new look before then: our beta guide explains how to get in, and our release guide covers the editions and their prices.
Once your machine is ready, you can plan your first character's talents in our talent planner, built from the beta client's data.
