// KOTAKU — GAMING
Become A God-Slaying Magical Girl In The ‘We Have Roguelite Nier Automata At Home’ Anime Action-RPG Coming To Game Pass
The second wave of Xbox Game Pass additions for September 2026 has been revealed, and there aren’t many surprises. Looking beyond Minecraft Dungeons 2 and Dune: Awakening, which we already knew were headed to the Netflix-like subscription service library, I’m intrigued by Kernel Hearts, a hack-and-slash MMO that looks like it’s trying to do a whole lot. Maybe even too much.
But first, the headliners. Minecraft Dungeons 2 is the sequel to a very cool arcade mash-up of Diablo and Minecraft that I still play with my kids. The new game lets you level up gear and has a more free-flowing structure. I’m excited to check it out. Then there’s Dune: Awakening, the survival crafting sim that lets you go from zero to hero in your pursuit of desert power. With version 1.5.1 currently in testing on PC, the game is finally arriving on consoles this month.
Here’s everything joining Xbox Game Pass in wave 2 for September 2026:
It’s a long list, though I don’t know why Xbox is including Gears of War: E-Day since that’s not out until October 6. The rest is full of games that are already part of the Ultimate tier but are finally coming to Game Pass Premium. Of the day-one additions, Kernel Hearts hadn’t previously been on my radar, but it has my attention now. It’s a co-op action-RPG roguelite where you are “tasked with climbing the Tower of Babel, eliminating the angelic creatures in your path as you dethrone God and save a world drowning in ashes.”
There are NPCs to bond with, Sailor Moon-like transformations, and seemingly a lot of character customization options for dealing with the game’s punishing combat. A free demo on Steam has received some decent reviews. “We have roguelite Nier Automata at home,” one player wrote approvingly.
Elsewhere, Little Nightmares 2 Enhanced Edition, Sifu, and Atomfall are all leaving at the end of the month on September 30. That leaves you two weeks to unravel the mysteries at the heart of British Fallout.
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