Xbox Game Pass September 2026: New Games & Day One Picks

Seven games in, eleven games out. This September on Xbox Game Pass is a game of musical chairs, and the music stops on September 15. Blink and you’ll miss Cyberpunk 2077 on console, or worse, pay full price for Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War the week before it drops free into your library.

That’s the real risk here: not knowing what’s leaving until it’s already gone. We’ve tracked every addition, every departure, and every day-one release landing this month, so you can plan your playtime instead of scrambling on September 14 at 11 PM.

How This List Is Organized

We’ve grouped games by role:

• New arrivals first, sorted by availability date
• Departures, split by leave date
• Day One titles on the horizon
• We note tier availability (Ultimate, Premium, Essential, PC Game Pass) for each entry, since not every game lands on every plan.

New Games Joining Game Pass in September 2026

Seven titles make up Wave 1, landing in a steady drip from September 1 through September 15. Here’s what’s arriving, when, and where you can play it.

1. Shelldiver, Available September 1

Available on Cloud, Console, and PC via Game Pass Ultimate, Game Pass Premium, and PC Game Pass. Shelldiver kicks off Wave 1 a few days ahead of the rest of the additions, making it the earliest arrival of the month.

2. Speedrunners 2: King of Speed, Available September 3

Available on Cloud, Xbox Series X|S, and PC via Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass. The sequel to the competitive platformer that built a cult following on Game Pass, Speedrunners 2 drops in right at the start of the month.

3. Dice a Million, Available September 4

Available on Cloud, Xbox Series X|S, Handheld, and PC. This one joins Game Pass Premium in September, expanding on its existing availability through Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass. We’d flag the Handheld support for anyone gaming on the go.

4. Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War, Available September 8

Available on Cloud, Console, and PC via Game Pass Ultimate, Game Pass Premium, and PC Game Pass. Cold War is the broadest addition of the wave in terms of plan coverage, landing across all three tiers. It’s also the most recognizable name here, especially if you haven’t worked through the Treyarch back catalogue now sitting inside the service following the Activision Blizzard acquisition.

5. The Royal Writ, Available September 10

Available on Cloud, Xbox Series X|S, Handheld, and PC via Game Pass Ultimate, Game Pass Premium, and PC Game Pass. Another title with Handheld support, alongside full Cloud and console availability.

6. Virtua Fighter 5 R.E.V.O. World Stage, Available September 10

Available on Cloud, Xbox Series X|S, and PC via Game Pass Ultimate, Game Pass Premium, and PC Game Pass. The fighting game community has tracked Virtua Fighter 5 R.E.V.O. closely since its release, and World Stage on Game Pass is exactly the kind of addition that pulls lapsed fighting game fans back in, given the series’ long-running competitive following even during its quieter years. It shares its date with The Royal Writ, making September 10 the busiest day of the wave.

7. RuneScape: Dragonwilds, Available September 15

Available on Cloud, Xbox Series X|S, and PC via Game Pass Ultimate, Game Pass Premium, and PC Game Pass. The survival-crafting spin-off from Jagex lands on the same date that 10 of the 11 departing titles leave, so September 15 is both the biggest day for additions and the biggest day for losses this month.

What About Wave 2?

Microsoft hasn’t confirmed September’s second wave yet. Going by August’s pattern, we expect the Wave 2 reveal around the middle of the month. We’ll update this section the moment new titles are announced, so check back if you’re planning your next few weeks of play. For context, here’s how August’s Wave 2 shaped up.

Subscriber Perks This Month

Beyond the catalogue additions, Ultimate, Premium, Essential, and PC Game Pass subscribers all get a monthly reward pack in Aniimo starting September 16: one Aniipod Ultra, 15 Growth Flowers, and 300 Glimmer. Separately, Game Pass Ultimate subscribers can jump into a 10-hour early access trial of NHL 27, with progress carrying over if you buy the full game afterward.

Games Leaving Xbox Game Pass in Early September 2026

Eleven games are confirmed departing, with discounts of at least 20% available on all of them from September 6 through September 15 for anyone who wants to buy before losing access.

Leaving September 6

NBA 2K26 exits Console, PC, and Cloud on September 6. It’s the only early departure before the September 15 wave, so the window here is short.

Leaving September 15

Ten titles leave simultaneously on September 15:

1. Commandos: Origins, Console, PC, Cloud
2. Cricket 24, Console, PC, Cloud
3. Cyberpunk 2077, Console, Cloud
4. Dead Cells, Console, PC, Cloud
5. Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor, Console, PC, Cloud
6. Frostpunk 2, PC only
7. Mullet Madjack, Console, PC, Cloud
8. Spiritfarer, Console, PC, Cloud
9. Superliminal, Console, PC, Cloud
10. Train Sim World 5, Console, PC, Cloud

Cyberpunk 2077 is the one worth double-checking: it’s a console-and-Cloud-only departure, so it stays on PC Game Pass. Check your plan before assuming you’ve lost access entirely. Frostpunk 2 is the mirror case: it exits PC only.

Day One Titles to Watch Beyond September

The Xbox Game Pass Day One page confirms several upcoming launches available at release for Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass subscribers. Minecraft Dungeons II arrives September 29, the one Day One launch confirmed for this month.

Beyond that, Gears of War: E-Day lands October 6, set fourteen years before the original game and following Marcus Fenix and Dom Santiago as the Locust Horde first emerge. A pair of additional titles, Echo Weaver and Forever Ago, follow on October 8.

We like the Day One catalogue as a comparison point for where platform-holder day-one commitments stand at this point in the console cycle: day-one subscription access has become a baseline expectation rather than a differentiator.

What to Prioritize Before September 15

If you can only play a handful of things before the cutoff, we’d plan around the September 15 exodus. Cyberpunk 2077 leaving console and Cloud is the headline loss. It’s a substantial game that won’t be quick to finish. Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor and Dead Cells both have strong replay loops that benefit from extended access, and both leave on the same date. Spiritfarer and Superliminal are shorter, realistic to finish in a weekend if you move quickly.

For the arrivals side, we’d pick Virtua Fighter 5 R.E.V.O. World Stage on September 10 as the one most likely to hold subscriber attention past its first week, given the series’ history with competitive communities. Cold War has the widest plan coverage of anything in the wave and is the clearest win for Game Pass Premium subscribers specifically.

The Bottom Line

September’s first half is a fair trade: seven solid arrivals against eleven departures, with Cyberpunk 2077 as the biggest loss to plan around. We’ll update this piece the moment Wave 2 lands, so check back.

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