WoW Forever on Xbox? Ion Hazzikostas says 'our focus remains PC', but gamepad support is already in the beta

World of Warcraft has never had official controller support. For years, players who wanted to play from the couch used community addons such as ConsolePort. WoW Forever changes that: it is the first version of WoW with native gamepad support, and the beta already has it.

That raises an obvious question, and Windows Central asked it at BlizzCon: does gamepad support mean WoW Forever is coming to Xbox?

“Our focus remains PC”

Game director Ion Hazzikostas did not say no. “Our focus remains PC,” he said. “It’s not just Xbox, it’s just gamepad in general. Right? I think we’ve seen tons of people in the community use addons like Console Port over the years, and jump through a lot of hoops to get WoW playable on gamepad — we want to make that easier.”

He also offered an interesting reason why this era of WoW suits a controller. Classic and Forever combat is slower and more deliberate, from before Haste became a common stat, so there are fewer buttons to press in a short time. He left the door open: “Our focus remains [on PC], but many possibilities exist in the future, and we’ll see where that leads us.”

Other Blizzard teams gave Windows Central much the same answer. Warcraft 3 project lead Brad Chan said “many things are possible, but right now we’re focused” on PC. Heroes of the Storm’s James Yen said the team’s priority is taking care of returning players first.

What is in the beta client

The beta shows how far Blizzard has taken this. The datamine for build 1.60.1.69913 has a whole Gamepad UI system, labeled “Enable Gamepad UI (Alpha)”, including:

• Radial menus for Bags, Talents, Spellbook and other panels
• Quick-chat phrases for groups, such as “I’m ready” and “Run or wipe!”
• Reticle aiming, a targeting mode that uses a reticle in the middle of the screen, the way console games do

Windows Central’s Jez Corden has already tried it on PC with an Xbox controller. He reports that the bumpers open interface shortcuts like your bags, the triggers combined with the face buttons and D-pad give 32 keybinds, and the Menu button opens a radial menu. His verdict: it “works really well, really easy to get used to,” although he was not yet sure how well targeting holds up in busy fights.

The feature is still rough in places. Beta testers report that UI layout changes made in gamepad mode do not stick: the interface falls back to the default gamepad layout, and no other saved UI profile can be selected. The controller’s input legend also turns itself back on at every login. One tester summed it up as “very alpha-testy”, which fits the label.

Why it matters

It makes a console version possible, but the bigger change is on PC. Handheld PCs like the Steam Deck and ROG Ally become real WoW devices without addon workarounds, and Forever’s classic-era graphics are light enough to run well on them. Our pre-download guide covers installing the beta on Steam Deck.

Addon authors should take note too. Forever already restricts what addons can do, so ConsolePort-style addons may no longer be needed, and may not be possible.

Side note: Forever is topping Twitch

Windows Central also notes that WoW Forever took the top spot on Twitch while still in closed beta, weeks before launch. Combined with the “craziest numbers in 17 years” Blizzard saw at the beta’s opening, it is further evidence of how much interest there is in Classic+.

Quotes from Windows Central’s BlizzCon interviews, published September 19, 2026. Gamepad UI strings from the WoW Forever beta client, build 1.60.1.69913, via the daybreakforever.com datamine.