WoW: Forever beta is live: mandatory surnames spark cursed names

World of Warcraft: Forever’s beta is live, and Blizzard’s new mandatory first-and-last-name system is already getting a lot of attention, along with some deeply cursed character names. Blizzard says the change is tied to Forever’s new realmless, region-wide rulesets, since adding surnames creates a much bigger pool of unique name combinations. It also introduces race-appropriate random surnames to make roleplay feel a little better. Players still have to follow standard World of Warcraft naming rules, though, and reported names can still end in forced renames, suspensions, or even the loss of beta access after a Game Master review.

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Some players are into the added personality. Others really don’t like being required to choose a surname, or giving up the old status that came with landing a rare single name. If you’re planning to jump into World of Warcraft: Forever at launch, there’s one practical detail here: you can hide your own surname in certain views, but other players will still see the full name.

Blizzard also says name reservations for World of Warcraft: Forever open on October 27, 2026 for owners of eligible editions. Players will be able to reserve up to three names on a first come, first served basis before the November 4, 2026 launch. And this surname system applies only to World of Warcraft: Forever, not to retail expansions such as World of Warcraft: Midnight or World of Warcraft: The Last Titan.

Author: Emmanuel Bosque

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