Xbox Game Pass September 2026 Wave 2: Every Game Coming and Leaving the Service
Xbox Game Pass has revealed its September 2026 Wave 2 lineup with 13 new games joining the service.
The headliners: Gears of War: E-Day arrives as a day-one Game Pass title on October 6, serving as Xbox's biggest exclusive of 2026. Minecraft Dungeons II launches day one on September 29. Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 joins the service on September 25, and Dune: Awakening finally makes its console debut on September 22. Four of the 13 additions in this wave are day-one Game Pass releases.
On the departures side, eight titles are leaving on September 30, including Sifu, Atomfall, and Little Nightmares II Enhanced Edition. There is also a notable addition to Game Pass Essential, with Rematch joining the lower tier on September 25.
Here is the full breakdown.
Games Coming to Xbox Game Pass
September 16
Marvel Cosmic Invasion (Cloud, Xbox Series X|S, Handheld, and PC) - Game Pass Ultimate, Game Pass Premium, and PC Game Pass
Planet of Lana II (Cloud, Xbox Series X|S, Handheld, and PC) - Game Pass Ultimate, Game Pass Premium, and PC Game Pass
Routine (Cloud, Console, Handheld, and PC) - Game Pass Ultimate, Game Pass Premium, and PC Game Pass
Ultimate Sheep Raccoon (Cloud, Console, and PC) - Game Pass Ultimate, Game Pass Premium, and PC Game Pass
September 17
Kernel Hearts (Cloud, Xbox Series X|S, and PC) - Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass (Day One)
Ninja Gaiden 4 (Cloud, Xbox Series X|S, Handheld, and PC) - Game Pass Ultimate, Game Pass Premium, and PC Game Pass
September 22
Dune: Awakening (Cloud, Xbox Series X|S, Handheld, and PC) - Game Pass Ultimate, Game Pass Premium, and PC Game Pass
Well Dweller (Cloud, Console, Handheld, and PC) - Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass (Day One)
September 23
Mad King Redemption (Cloud, Xbox Series X|S, Handheld, and PC) - Game Pass Ultimate, Game Pass Premium, and PC Game Pass
September 25
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 (Cloud, Console, Handheld, and PC) - Game Pass Ultimate, Game Pass Premium, and PC Game Pass
September 29
Minecraft Dungeons II (Cloud, Console, Handheld, and PC) - Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass (Day One)
October 2
Keeper (Cloud, Xbox Series X|S, and PC) - Game Pass Ultimate, Game Pass Premium, and PC Game Pass
October 6
Gears of War: E-Day (Cloud, Xbox Series X|S, Handheld, and PC) - Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass (Day One)
Key Highlights
Marvel Cosmic Invasion is a retro side-scrolling beat-em-up from Tribute Games, the studio behind Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge, published by Dotemu. You choose two of 15 Marvel heroes and tag them mid-combo in a campaign that pits you against Annihilus and the Annihilation Wave across 16 stages. The roster includes Captain America, Iron Man, Wolverine, She-Hulk, Beta Ray Bill, and Cosmic Ghost Rider, among others. It launched in late 2025 to a generally positive reception, with the tag combat system and character variety drawing praise. The main criticism was its short campaign length and some stage reuse across runs. A strong pick for Marvel fans and beat-em-up enthusiasts.
Planet of Lana II is the sequel to the acclaimed cinematic puzzle-platformer from Wishfully, published by Thunderful. Lana and her companion Mui return in a changed world, with new movement options including sprinting, sliding, and wall-jumping, richer dual-character puzzles, stealth sections, and a longer story running around six hours. It launched in early 2026 to a generally favorable reception with an OpenCritic score around 82 and an 87% recommendation rate. Critics praised the beautiful hand-painted presentation and the emotional depth of the story, calling it a meaningful step forward from the original in both gameplay and writing.
Routine is a first-person sci-fi survival horror game from Lunar Software, published by Raw Fury, set on an abandoned lunar base designed around an 80s vision of the future. You explore and investigate using the C.A.T. tool for interaction, stun, blacklight, and manual saves, while surviving encounters with hostile and unkillable robots in a game built around careful exploration and diegetic puzzle logic rather than combat. It launched in late 2025 to a generally favorable but divided reception, with IGN giving it a 7/10. Its atmosphere and art direction drew consistent praise, while backtracking and some clunky navigation were common criticisms.
Ultimate Sheep Raccoon is a party bike-racing game from Clever Endeavour Games, the studio behind Ultimate Chicken Horse. Up to eight players build a course together using ramps, obstacles, and traps, then race through the chaos they created using tricks and power-ups. It launched in late 2025 to mixed Steam reviews at around 45 to 48% positive, with most of the criticism aimed at the physics and feel compared to its predecessor.
Kernel Hearts is a co-op action RPG roguelike from Ephemera Games, published by Whitethorn Games, launching on September 17 as a day-one Game Pass title. You play as MAHOU Unit magical girl androids climbing the Tower of Babel to dethrone God, mixing run-specific powers with permanent chip upgrades and a Magical Girl transformation system across one to four player co-op.
Ninja Gaiden 4 is the latest entry in the iconic hack-and-slash series, co-developed by Team Ninja and PlatinumGames and published by Xbox Game Studios. Originally released in late 2025 as a day-one Game Pass title, it introduces new lead character Yakumo alongside a playable Ryu, with fast and brutal action built around Platinum's signature combat flow alongside series staples. The story is widely considered thin, but the combat itself earned strong praise. It holds an OpenCritic score around 82 with an 83% recommendation rate, and has been called one of the best pure action games of 2025. It is now joining Game Pass Premium in addition to Ultimate and PC Game Pass.
Dune: Awakening is an open-world survival MMO-lite from Funcom set on Arrakis, the most legendary planet in the science fiction universe. Originally launched on PC in June 2025, the console version arrives on September 22, bringing with it a full single-player experience, the Book One story finale, and significant UI and control improvements tailored for console players. Water management, sandworm survival, spice harvesting, base-building, ornithopters, and Landsraad political systems make up the core loop, which can be experienced solo, on private servers, or in public multiplayer environments. The PC version holds a Metacritic score around 78, with praise for its atmospheric Dune fantasy and criticism of some live-service pacing in the endgame.
Well Dweller is a dark fairy-tale Metroidvania from solo developer Kyle Thompson, who previously made Islets and Crypt Custodian, published by Top Hat Studios. You play as Glimmer, a tiny bird whose matchstick serves simultaneously as a weapon, a health indicator as the flame shortens when you take damage, a light source, and a traversal tool that can be embedded into walls and used as a springboard. You must burn the wicked queen and rescue your siblings in a hand-drawn gothic world. It launches on September 22 as a day-one Game Pass title.
Mad King Redemption is a 2.5D pixel beat-em-up and roguelite hybrid from Secret Mission, published by Pixel Doors. Four heroes fight a king driven to madness by forbidden magic across randomized runs, with Forbidden Cards that offer powerful abilities at a significant cost, mounts, and skill upgrade systems built around old-school brawler controls. It has been in Early Access on PC since May 2026 and arrived on Xbox Series in August, with very positive Steam feedback from early players. The 1.0 release is still pending, and the game continues to develop.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 is the 2024 entry in the franchise, co-developed by Treyarch and Raven Software and published by Activision. Set in a 1990s spy-thriller world, it introduced Omni-movement, a new system that allows players to sprint in any direction, dive, and mantle freely, fundamentally changing how the game feels to play. The campaign, multiplayer, and the highly anticipated return of round-based Zombies are all included. It holds a Metacritic score around 82 and an OpenCritic score around 83. It is now joining Game Pass Premium in addition to Ultimate and PC Game Pass.
Minecraft Dungeons II is the sequel to the popular Diablo-inspired dungeon crawler from Mojang Studios and Double Eleven, published by Xbox Game Studios. Up to four players journey into a new dimension called the Sift, with a new story, expanded gear customization through a four-piece armor system and talismans, a revamped inventory, new art direction, and threats that the developers promise will challenge players like never before. It launches on September 29 as a day-one Game Pass title across all platforms.
Keeper is a wordless surreal adventure from Double Fine Productions, published by Xbox Game Studios. You play as a walking lighthouse with spider legs, using your beam to solve puzzles and light the path ahead as a spirited seabird companion joins you on a journey through painterly and strange realms. It originally launched in late 2025 and has been broadly praised for its art direction and emotional tone. It is now joining Game Pass Premium alongside its existing availability on Ultimate and PC Game Pass, and also arrives on PlayStation 5 separately.
Gears of War: E-Day is the biggest addition in this wave and arguably the most anticipated Xbox exclusive of 2026. Developed by The Coalition and People Can Fly and published by Xbox Game Studios, it is a prequel set 14 years before the original Gears of War, following a young Marcus Fenix and Dominic Santiago on Emergence Day as the Locust Horde erupts from below. Built in Unreal Engine 5 with more verticality, sliding, jumping, and climbing added to the classic cover-shooter formula, the campaign runs around 14 hours and supports one to four player co-op and split-screen. A new Horde Siege mode supports 12 players across three squads with classes and large city maps. Premium early access begins October 1, with the full game launching day one on Game Pass on October 6. It is exclusive to Xbox Series and PC, with no PlayStation 5 version.
Games Leaving Xbox Game Pass on September 30
Eight titles are heading out at the end of the month, so make time for them before they go:
Atomfall (Cloud, Console, and PC)
Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light (Cloud, Console, and PC)
Little Nightmares II Enhanced Edition (Cloud, Console, and PC)
Little Rocket Lab (Cloud, Console, and PC)
Sifu (Cloud, Console, and PC)
SOPA: Tale of the Stolen Potato (Cloud, Console, and PC)
Sworn (Cloud, Console, and PC)
Terminull Brigade (Cloud, Console, and PC)
The most notable departure is Sifu. Developed by Sloclap, it is a third-person kung-fu brawler built around a unique aging mechanic where death costs you years of your life until a run-ending old age. Its combat system is widely regarded as one of the most precise and satisfying in the genre, earning an IGN score of 9 out of 10 and an OpenCritic score around 81. It still holds a 92% positive rating on Steam. If you have been putting it off, it is worth carving out a weekend for before September 30.
Atomfall is also worth highlighting as a distinctive British post-apocalyptic adventure set in the English Lake District, with an investigation-driven structure that sets it apart from most open-world games in the space.
Little Nightmares II Enhanced Edition is the definitive version of Tarsier Studios' acclaimed side-scrolling horror, and Sworn is a solid co-op action roguelike with strong build variety that plays best with a group of friends. All four are well worth finishing before the month ends.
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