Gaming
Xbox Game Pass September Wave 1 adds Call of Duty and six more games
Seven titles arrive by September 15 as 10 games prepare to leave the service
MUMBAI: Game on, Game Pass fans. September is bringing some big guns, along with a few shell-shocking surprises. Microsoft has announced the first wave of Xbox Game Pass additions for September 2026, with seven games joining the service by September 15, led by Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War and RuneScape: Dragonwilds.
The wave kicks off with Shelldiver, an incremental game that puts players in the unlikely shell of a senior turtle trying to build a business selling jellyfish. It arrived on September 1 for Cloud, Console and PC across Game Pass Ultimate, Game Pass Premium and PC Game Pass.
Next up is Speedrunners 2: King of Speed, launching directly into Game Pass on September 3 for Cloud, Xbox Series X/S and PC. The competitive co-op platformer is followed by Dice a Million on September 4, with Game Pass Premium subscribers getting access alongside its existing availability on Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass.
The month’s biggest name lands on September 8, when Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War joins Game Pass across Cloud, Console and PC. The Raven Software-developed title originally arrived in 2020. Its single-player campaign earned a 7/10 review, while its multiplayer offering received a less enthusiastic assessment.
September’s second half of the first wave adds two more titles on September 10. The Royal Writ brings a medieval spin to the roguelike deck-builder format, arriving on Cloud, Xbox Series X/S, Handheld and PC. Virtua Fighter 5 R.E.V.O. World Stage also lands that day across Cloud, Xbox Series X/S and PC, with a single-player “journey” alongside its multiplayer fighting modes.
Rounding off the wave is RuneScape: Dragonwilds on September 15 for Cloud, Xbox Series X/S and PC. The first standalone title in Jagex’s long-running medieval MMORPG franchise, it combines open-world exploration with co-op, crafting and survival gameplay. The game has already sold more than 1 million copies during early access.
The September refresh, however, comes with the familiar Game Pass catch: what comes in must make room for what goes out. A total of 10 games are scheduled to leave the service on September 15.
Those departures are Commandos: Origins, Cricket 24, Cyberpunk 2077, Dead Cells, Deep Rock Galactic Survivor, Frostpunk 2, Mullet Madjack, Spiritfarer, Superliminal and Train Sim World 5.
For players, the message is straightforward: September’s first wave offers a mix of blockbuster shooting, competitive fighting, medieval survival and decidedly more unusual adventures — but the clock is already ticking on several Game Pass favourites.
