I'm sure whoever chose to charge for WoW: Forever beta access is feeling very chuffed, given Blizzard's had to expand its server size a second time

It's official—the WoW: Forever beta has sold like hotcakes for Blizzard. In case you're not in the know, Forever doesn't have an entry price (it's just part of your normal WoW subscription), however, its elves are $30. And, if you want to get into the beta, which'll be running until the game releases in November? That'll be $60 (£52), please.

Server queues were rammed on November 17, and Forever's devs have been utterly swarmed by the amount of people clamouring to play this reinvented version of Classic. So much so that, as Longdale reveals above, Blizzard's had to increase the population cap not once, but twice.

Which has me thinking that Blizzard must be very chuffed with itself, having thoroughly gotten its cake and eaten it too. The idea of early access in an MMO is a contentious issue, especially with a playerbase as competitive as World of Warcraft's is—but Blizzard has been forthright in setting expectations: All progress will be wiped after the beta concludes, though there will be name reservations available for folks who bought in.

And yet, given the amount of players who've been pouring through the gates? That doesn't seem to matter all too much, folks're just happy to hop in and mess around. Which means that Blizzard has essentially gotten away with selling an early access without any of the real downsides.

A fact that I'd be a lot more cynical about if I wasn't having such a bloody good time. Forever's thin layer of quality of life and additional quests has me completely hooked. I've got a level 20 warrior sitting on a full quest journal, ready for the level cap to be bumped up, and a shaman in his mid-teens. The Forever team's done a bang-up job, and I'll be ravenous for the full release when it finally comes to obliterate my free time.