Xbox Game Pass adds Gears of War: E-Day, Minecraft Dungeons II, and Dune: Awakening this fall

Microsoft has confirmed the next wave of Xbox Game Pass additions, running from mid-September through early October 2026. The headliner is Gears of War: E-Day, arriving October 6 exclusively on Ultimate and PC Game Pass. Two other notable launches — Minecraft Dungeons II on September 29 and Dune: Awakening on September 22 — also land day one in the service, but again only for Ultimate and PC subscribers. If you're on the lower Premium tier, none of those three are included at launch.

The new arrivals

Dune: Awakening is the most interesting addition for casual players. The game launched on PC in June 2025 as a multiplayer-only survival MMO — which put off a lot of people. The console debut on September 22 changes that: a full single-player mode covering the entire game arrives simultaneously, with no other players required and adjustable difficulty. That's a meaningfully different product from what launched over a year ago, per TechTimes.

Minecraft Dungeons II is the sequel to the isometric action-RPG spin-off and lands September 29. Gears of War: E-Day is a prequel to the original Gears, set during the first Emergence Day, and rounds out the season on October 6. Both are Ultimate/PC Game Pass exclusives at launch, according to Xbox Wire.

RuneScape: Dragonwilds is already live as of September 15, available across Ultimate, Premium, and PC Game Pass — it just exited early access.

The tier reshuffles

Several games are moving down from Ultimate to Premium starting September 16 and 17: MARVEL Cosmic Invasion, Planet of Lana II, Routine, Ultimate Sheep Raccoon, and Ninja Gaiden 4 all make that drop. Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 follows on September 25, shifting to Premium after spending nearly a year as an Ultimate perk. If you're still on Ultimate — priced at £16.99/month in the UK after April's reduction — none of this affects your access. If you're on Premium at £10.99/month, those games join your library.

What's leaving

Eight titles exit the catalog on September 30, including Atomfall, Sifu, Little Nightmares 2 Enhanced Edition, and Sworn. If any of those are in your backlog, now is the time.

The pattern is becoming clear: Microsoft is using Ultimate exclusivity as its main lever to justify the price gap between tiers. Day-one blockbusters stay locked up top; back-catalog titles trickle down to Premium to keep that tier feeling active.