Since Blizzard first unveiled World of Warcraft: Forever at BlizzCon 2026 last month, one thing has been weighing particularly heavily on fans’ minds about the revamped MMO: the Skyborne race.
It’s hard to deny the controversy surrounding the new Skyborne race, from its $30 price tag to its lore implications, but Blizzard doesn’t seem to necessarily agree with fans critical of the blue-skinned elves.
In fact, senior game designer Josh Greenfield said the team always “knew we wanted to add some sort of elves” and the Skyborne had apparently stemmed from veteran Chris Metzen himself.
That doesn’t mean Blizzard isn’t open to any change at all, however.
As it stands, folks can opt for HD or SD player models in WoW: Forever. Put simply, HD is a “newer” style, while SD provides that old beloved 2004 look. The Skyborne don’t have that option in the Beta right now, though – but that’ll change.
Blizzard reveals as much in a new update on its official website, explaining that the developers “focused on the pre-existing races from original World of Warcraft” first, regarding the SD and HD toggle.
That’s because, you know, “many people have an attachment to those models.” The studio is aware that it leaves the Skyborne looking a bit… different.
“We have heard feedback that the HD Skyborne can be jarring by contrast when placed in the same world as the SD models and world, and we agree.”
The solution? “Skyborne player characters (and yes SD Druid forms) are in development and arriving early 2027.” Attached is an in-progress image of models.
So, the SD Skyborne won’t be available when World of Warcraft: Forever fully releases on November 4, but they’re coming.
Is it enough for disgruntled fans, though? Well… is it ever? Comments show that plenty of players are still, erm, displeased, to say the least, with some asking Blizzard to just “please remove Skyborne druid” altogether – which is a tad extreme, if you ask me. There is some positivity among the replies, thankfully, however.
I’m of the (evidently unpopular) belief that the Skyborne are stunning, and have their place in WoW: Forever, so I’m thrilled. And, you know what? A huge chunk of the Beta players I see myself are playing as the race, so take that as you will.