Where the numbers come from
3 census sources are read for this site, 2 of them counted toward the consensus. Each keeps its own sample size and date; figures are compared as shares and never added together. Below the list, every source's own shares side by side.
What is counted
On the faction split the 2 counted sources are 1.8 points apart (sources are close); on class share the widest gap is 1.9 points, on Horde Paladin (sources are close).
| Source | What it measures | Sample | Data of | Checked | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cumulative censusThe largest sample and the base of every chart; the only source with a level distribution and a daily class-share series. | Every character recorded since the beta opened, at every level | 1,072,409 characters | Oct 18, 19:35 UTC | Counted | |
| Rolling censusPer realm and faction, with 24-hour and 7-day activity windows, guild lists, zones, talents and gear. | Unique characters seen in sampled in-game scans over the last 30 days (30-day window) | 138,302 characters | Oct 18, 19:35 UTC | Counted | |
| Community sampleListed for comparison, never averaged: under 2,000 characters and one faction. | Characters one fan site's own play sessions met, each counted once; Alliance only so far | 1,912 characters | Oct 14, 16:13 UTC | Listed, not counted |
How we count
- We aggregate the top public census datasets, and our own in-game data collection joins them when the game launches.
- Every source keeps its own sample size and date; figures are never pooled, and a republished figure is never counted twice.
- Snapshots are saved daily, checked against a published data schema, and kept as a complete history.
- For every figure, each source's own share is computed first (count ÷ that source's own total). The consensus is the plain average of those shares, one counted source, one vote; the gap is the spread between them in percentage points.
- A source is counted when it covers both factions with at least 10,000 characters and its data is within three days of the newest; smaller or one-sided sources are listed and shown beside the others, never averaged.
- Agreement in words: up to 1 point apart, sources agree; up to 2.5, close; up to 5, they differ; beyond that, they disagree. Race-by-class cells use half those thresholds.
- Figures that only one source publishes (levels, activity windows, guilds, zones) are shown as that source's alone, with its date.
Cite this data
WoW Forever Data, Forever Codex, October 17, 2026, https://wowforeverdata.com/data/census.json
Licensed CC BY 4.0: reuse with attribution. Machine-readable: census.json, sources.json, community.json, llms.txt.
Sources side by side
Across 2 counted sources, 6 of 9 class shares agree within a point; the widest gap is Paladin at 1.4 pts.
Questions about the numbers
Is this how many people play WoW Forever?
No. A census counts characters, not players: one player can have several characters, and a census only counts the characters its scans saw. The largest source here has recorded 1,072,409 characters since the beta opened on September 17, 2026, and the rolling census saw 36,974 in the last 24 hours. Neither number is a player count.
How often is the data updated?
Every source is checked every 12 hours, at 07:30 and 19:30 UTC, and a dated snapshot is saved whenever a source has published new figures. Each page says which day its figures describe, and every snapshot is kept, so the history stays complete.
Why do WoW Forever census sites show different numbers?
They measure different things. Some count every character recorded since the beta opened, others only the unique characters seen in the last 30 days, and each census's scans reach the realms and factions unevenly. This site compares the sources as shares of their own characters instead of adding their counts together, keeps each one's sample size and date, and never counts a republished figure twice.
Is this beta or launch data?
Beta data. The WoW Forever beta opened on September 17, 2026 and runs through October 21; the game launches on November 4, 2026, when our own in-game data collection joins the public sources.