Xbox Game Pass September Wave 2: Dune, Minecraft Dungeons 2 and Gears E-Day

Xbox Game Pass’s second September wave is shaping up as a busy stretch for players who want both immediate options and major releases waiting just over the horizon. The schedule begins with RuneScape: Dragonwilds on September 15, then moves through new Premium additions, Ultimate and PC Game Pass launches, and ends with Gears of War: E-Day arriving October 6.

The headline names are easy to spot: survival RPG Dune: Awakening joins September 22 for Game Pass Ultimate, Game Pass Premium and PC Game Pass; Minecraft Dungeons 2 arrives September 29 for Ultimate and PC Game Pass; and Gears of War: E-Day follows for those two tiers on October 6. There is also a sizable group of games reaching Premium, including Marvel Cosmic Invasion, Planet of Lana II, Routine, Ultimate Sheep Raccoon, Ninja Gaiden 4, Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 and Keeper.

It is a lineup with enough genre variety to make the subscription’s practical value highly dependent on what, and where, a person plays. A player interested in comic-book brawling and science-fiction puzzles has a very different route through the month than someone waiting for a survival RPG or a first-party action release. The other key distinction is membership tier: not every game in this wave is available to Premium subscribers on its listed date.

The September and early October Game Pass schedule

Here is the complete announced timetable, including platforms and eligible subscriptions.

September 15 — RuneScape: Dragonwilds: Cloud, Xbox Series X/S and PC; Game Pass Ultimate, Game Pass Premium and PC Game Pass.
September 16 — Marvel Cosmic Invasion: Cloud, Xbox Series X/S, handheld and PC; now available with Game Pass Premium and also joining Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass.
September 16 — Planet of Lana II: Cloud, Xbox Series X/S, handheld and PC; now available with Game Pass Premium and also joining Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass.
September 16 — Routine: Cloud, console, handheld and PC; now available with Game Pass Premium and also joining Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass.
September 16 — Ultimate Sheep Raccoon: Cloud, console and PC; now available with Game Pass Premium and also joining Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass.
September 17 — Kernel Hearts: Cloud, Xbox Series X/S and PC; Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass.
September 17 — Ninja Gaiden 4: Cloud, Xbox Series X/S, handheld and PC; now available with Game Pass Premium and also joining Game Pass Ultimate 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.
September 22 — Well Dweller: Cloud, console, handheld and PC; Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass.
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; now available with Game Pass Premium and also joining Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass.
September 29 — Minecraft Dungeons 2: Cloud, console, handheld and PC; Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass.
October 2 — Keeper: Cloud, Xbox Series X/S and PC; now available with Game Pass Premium and also joining Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass.
October 6 — Gears of War: E-Day: Xbox Series X/S, handheld, PC and cloud; Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass.

What the tier labels mean for this wave

The schedule repeatedly separates Game Pass Premium from Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass. That is the first thing to check before putting a release on a calendar. In this particular batch, Premium includes RuneScape: Dragonwilds, Dune: Awakening and Mad King Redemption, as well as the listed September 16, September 17, September 25 and October 2 games that are described as joining Premium.

But several titles are listed only for Ultimate and PC Game Pass: Kernel Hearts, Well Dweller, Minecraft Dungeons 2 and Gears of War: E-Day. For a Premium subscriber, those are not part of the announced access list. For Ultimate and PC Game Pass members, they form an important part of the month’s appeal, particularly the two later releases.

Day-one access is another useful term here. It means a title is available through the subscription on its release day rather than arriving later in the service’s catalog cycle. Minecraft Dungeons 2 on September 29 and Gears of War: E-Day on October 6 are identified as day-one releases for PC and Ultimate subscribers. That distinction matters most to players deciding whether a particular membership tier fits the games they plan to play right away.

The platform shorthand matters, too. Cloud identifies games offered through streaming; handheld marks support on handheld devices; PC is the computer version; and console listings specify either Xbox Series X/S or console availability more generally. These are availability labels, not interchangeable promises. For example, Dune: Awakening is listed for cloud, Xbox Series X/S, handheld and PC, whereas RuneScape: Dragonwilds is listed for cloud, Xbox Series X/S and PC, with no handheld listing in this schedule.

The standout releases, by type of game

Dune: Awakening is described as a sandy survival RPG, and it is the month’s clearest all-tier focal point because it reaches Premium, Ultimate and PC Game Pass on September 22. A survival RPG generally combines role-playing progression with the challenge of persisting in an environment, although the announced information does not detail its systems. The practical takeaway is simpler: subscribers across all three named tiers can put it at the center of their September plans, and it is available across cloud, Xbox Series X/S, handheld and PC.

Minecraft Dungeons 2 lands a week later, but its access is narrower: Ultimate and PC Game Pass only. It is scheduled for cloud, console, handheld and PC. Its placement late in the wave gives players a clear dividing line between the broad Premium-supported set and one of the biggest Ultimate/PC-only dates.

Gears of War: E-Day arrives after the September calendar closes, on October 6. It is listed for Xbox Series X/S, handheld, PC and cloud, again for Ultimate and PC Game Pass. The timing is worth noting because it means this announcement is not merely a snapshot of a single month; it asks subscribers to look into early October as well.

Outside those three, the 16 September additions offer concise genre signals. Marvel Cosmic Invasion is a comic-book beat ’em up, a format centered on close-quarters action against groups of enemies. Planet of Lana II is a science-fiction puzzler. Routine is science-fiction horror. Ultimate Sheep Raccoon is a bike-racing party game. Kernel Hearts is an action RPG roguelike, while Well Dweller is a dark-fairytale Metroidvania and Mad King Redemption a 2.5D roguelite beat ’em up.

Those labels should help people choose without pretending they provide a full mechanical breakdown. Roguelike and roguelite are related descriptors often used for games built around repeated runs; the supplied schedule does not explain exactly how Kernel Hearts or Mad King Redemption handles progression. Likewise, Metroidvania is a genre term commonly associated with exploration-driven action design, but the available details only establish Well Dweller’s genre label, not the specifics of its map or abilities.

Ninja Gaiden 4 and Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 add two recognizable action-heavy entries to Premium’s September slate, both with cloud, handheld and PC availability alongside Xbox console support. Keeper reaches Premium on October 2 and is listed for cloud, Xbox Series X/S and PC. The game is also arriving on PlayStation 5, a reminder that catalog availability and platform exclusivity are separate questions.

A practical way to plan the month

For subscribers who do not intend to sample everything, the release dates create a sensible queue. Start with the four September 16 additions if a comic-book brawler, puzzle game, horror game or party racer appeals. Then September 17 offers Kernel Hearts and Ninja Gaiden 4. Dune: Awakening and Well Dweller share September 22, followed immediately by Mad King Redemption on September 23 and Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 on September 25.

The final September stretch is especially relevant for Ultimate and PC members: Minecraft Dungeons 2 arrives September 29, only one day before the service loses several current games. That overlap could make it tempting to move on quickly, but departing titles cannot simply be treated as permanent backlog material. In a catalog service, an announced removal date creates a real deadline.

Players using handheld or cloud access should verify the exact title’s listed support rather than assuming every addition travels everywhere. The schedule is broad, but not uniform. Cloud and handheld options are present for a large portion of the wave, while a few entries have more limited platform listings. PC Game Pass members likewise get much of the key lineup, including the later Minecraft Dungeons 2 and Gears of War: E-Day releases.

For another perspective on why the requirements and performance expectations of portable PC gaming remain a consequential issue, see the discussion around Steam Deck 2 conditions and performance.

Eight games are leaving on September 30

New additions are only half of a Game Pass update. Eight games are scheduled to leave the service on September 30, across cloud, console and PC:

Atomfall
Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light
Little Nightmares 2 Enhanced Edition
Little Rocket Lab
Sifu
SOPA Tale of the Stolen Potato
Sworn
Terminull Brigade

Anyone who has started one of these games, or has kept it in the familiar “I’ll get to it soon” category, has a more urgent choice than the arrivals create. A September 30 removal date means prioritizing those games before beginning a long commitment elsewhere in the lineup. Atomfall, in particular, is among the notable departures identified in this update.

The September wave therefore has two rhythms. The first is discovery: an unusually varied menu of new games spread from September 15 to October 6. The second is triage: making time before September 30 for the eight titles cycling out. For Premium members, Dune: Awakening, Ninja Gaiden 4 and Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 are central draws. For Ultimate and PC Game Pass subscribers, Minecraft Dungeons 2 and Gears of War: E-Day add two major dates to circle after that.