Xbox Game Pass September 2026 Wave 1 Lineup Announced

Microsoft has announced the Xbox Game Pass September 2027 Wave 1 lineup, and it includes a Call of Duty blockbuster.

Available today on all major Game Pass tiers, Shelldiver is an incremental game about a senior turtle trying to start a business selling jellyfish. It sounds odd, but its Steam reviews look promising, so maybe this is one worth hauling in.

Later this week, Speedrunners 2: King of Speed launches straight into Game Pass, bringing a second helping of competitive co-op platforming action. Game Pass premium members also gain access to Dice a Million, the roguelike deck builder already on other tiers.

Perhaps this batch’s biggest inclusion is Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War, which is the Raven Software-made instalment that arrived back in 2020. We gave the game’s single-player a 7/10 in our campaign review, though its multiplayer modes lagged behind that a little. There have been better CODs, in other words, though there have also been worse.

Later this month sees the addition of The Royal Writ, another roguelike deck builder, though this time with a medieval twist. Then there’s Virtua Fighter 5, or Virtua Fighter 5 R.E.V.O. World Stage, to give its full name. “The World Stage” refers to its single-player “journey”, though its bone-shattering multiplayer modes remain the star.

Last but not least, there’s the previously-confirmed inclusion of Runescape: Dragonwilds, the first standalone title in Jagex’s long-running medieval MMORPG franchise. Dragonwilds has already shifted over 1 million copies during early access, so its open world, co-op, crafting and survival gameplay is obviously doing something right.

The full lineup lies just below:

Xbox Game Pass September 2026 Wave 1 lineup:

• Shelldiver (Cloud, Console, and PC) — September 1, Game Pass Ultimate, Game Pass Premium, PC Game Pass
• Speedrunners 2: King of Speed (Cloud, Xbox Series X/S, and PC) – September 3, Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass
• Dice a Million (Cloud, Xbox Series X/S, Handheld, and PC) – September 4, now with Game Pass Premium; joining Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass
• Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War (Cloud, Console, and PC) – September 8, Game Pass Ultimate, Game Pass Premium, PC Game Pass
• The Royal Writ (Cloud, Xbox Series X|S, Handheld, and PC) – September 10, Game Pass Ultimate, Game Pass Premium, PC Game Pass
• Virtua Fighter 5 R.E.V.O. World Stage (Cloud, Xbox Series X/S, and PC) – September 10, Game Pass Ultimate, Game Pass Premium, PC Game Pass
• RuneScape: Dragonwilds (Cloud, Xbox Series X/S, and PC) – September 15, Game Pass Ultimate, Game Pass Premium, PC Game Pass

As always, whenever Microsoft giveth, it also taketh away. A number of games leave Game Pass this month, including the charming Spiritfarer. Be sure to play that before it departs, as well as everything else listed below:

Games leaving Xbox Game Pass on September 15:

• Commandos: Origins (Cloud, Console, and PC)
• Cricket 24 (Cloud, Console, and PC)
• Cyberpunk 2077 (Cloud and Console)
• Dead Cells (Cloud, Console, and PC)
• Deep Rock Galactic Survivor (Cloud, Console, and PC)
• Frostpunk 2 (PC)
• Mullet Madjack (Cloud, Console, and PC)
• Spiritfarer (Cloud, Console, and PC)
• Superliminal (Cloud, Console, and PC)
• Train Sim World 5 (Cloud, Console, and PC)

Tom Phillips is IGN’s News Editor. You can reach Tom at [email protected] or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social