Control Resonant and 5 other games hitting Xbox next week
Remedy takes us to a warped Manhattan, EA drops its fourth FC football sim, and a classic Amiga shooter returns.
Microsoft just published its weekly release preview for September 21 to 25. The late-September window is always crowded. This year is no different, with a massive list of indie drops, sports annuals, and one very big Remedy sequel. Here are six standouts from the upcoming slate.
Dylan Faden takes over Manhattan
Remedy Entertainment is dropping the sequel to 2019's Control on September 24. You play as Dylan Faden this time around. He is out of the Federal Bureau of Control's Oldest House and dealing with a paranatural crisis in New York City. The Hiss and the Mold are back. I want to see how Remedy handles a semi-open-world setting after years of tight, confined corridor shooters. It costs $59.99 and supports Xbox Play Anywhere.
The post-FIFA era enters year four
EA split from FIFA in 2022/2023 and launched EA Sports FC 24 in 2023, followed by FC 25 in 2024 and FC 26 in 2025; by the release of EA Sports FC 27 in 2026, the branding is in its fourth installment/year. It lands on September 25. The big addition this year is a social hub called The Grounds, which mixes street football with club mechanics. I'm curious if the new dynamic corner controls actually change how the game plays at a competitive level.
Arrakis survival hits Game Pass day one

Funcom's open-world survival game arrives on September 22. It's a day-one Game Pass release, though you can also buy it outright for $39.99. You build bases, craft gear, and try to survive the harsh deserts of Arrakis. You can play it solo or on shared public servers with hundreds of other players. Survival MMOs are a tough market right now. I'm not entirely sold on whether the Dune license is enough to make this one stick, but the Game Pass inclusion guarantees a healthy player count at launch.
35 years later on an Xbox

Team17's classic top-down Amiga shooter is getting a massive retro package on September 24. Commodore is publishing this $24.99 collection, which bundles the original campaigns with modern controls and a new horde mode. It also includes an archive of redacted documents and museum materials. The original Alien Breed was a staple of early 90s PC gaming, and having a native Xbox Series X port is a nice win for preservation.
Managing a medieval zombie army
The original Graveyard Keeper was a morbid, funny take on the farming sim formula. The sequel drops on September 22. This time around, you are the Grand Inquisitor. You have to restore a town and build an undead army to fight off a zombie apocalypse. It's still a management sim at its core, requiring you to harvest human remains and automate production lines. The premise is ridiculous in the best way possible.
The PS5 action RPG finally makes the jump
Project Cloud Games spent six years building this dark fantasy action game. The Relic: First Guardian originally launched on PC and PS5 in July 2026 before its Xbox Series X|S release on September 24. It leans heavily into Korean folklore and emphasizes vulnerability in its combat system.
That's just a fraction of the full list. The Xbox store is also getting a laundry simulator, a brewery management game, and a puzzle game based on the trolley problem. September is officially in full swing.
Pick up CONTROL Resonant on Humble Bundle.
Some links in this article are affiliate links. Purchases made through them help support Pants Pants Revolution at no extra cost to you.
Comments ()