September 2026 was already looking stacked before the State of Play, but yesterday it became veritably tragic for players' wallets.
There are at least five (possibly more, depending on your definition of the category) major triple-A releases squeezing in this month, in what's clearly a desperate effort to stay out of the veritable vortex that Rockstar's Grand Theft Auto 6 will spin on the industry when it launches on November 19. They're also in fairly similar genres, practically forcing players to choose which to purchase, with inevitable repercussions for their sales. The only silver lining is that Phantom Blade Zero exited the September calendar, though its new October 29 date is much closer to GTA 6.
September 3 - The Blood of Dawnwalker ($69.99)
The first one in the calendar and the second one to announce its release date was The Blood of Dawnwalker, the debut game of Polish studio Rebel Wolves. Not only does it enjoy the advantage of launching ahead of the others, but The Blood of Dawnwalker is also far more of a roleplaying game than any other title launching in September, further setting it apart from the pack. Rebel Wolves explicitly called out inspirations from the first two Fallout games and even pen-and-paper RPGs.
It doesn't hurt that Rebel Wolves is composed of many former CD Projekt RED developers who worked on the unanimously acclaimed The Witcher III: Wild Hunt. Glimpses of that masterpiece are easily seen in the gameplay footage released so far, and yet there are also enough additions to make it far from a mere clone. All in all, The Blood of Dawnwalker appears poised to do well, both critically and commercially.
September 15 - Marvel's Wolverine ($69.99)
The second big game to launch in September is Marvel's Wolverine, Insomniac's first game since 2023's Marvel's Spider-Man 2. The Californian studio announced the September 15 launch back in February, well ahead of anybody else, trying to secure its spot with more than two months to spare on GTA 6.
On paper, it shouldn't have too much to worry about. Insomniac Games is practically a quality guarantee, especially after the Spider-Man games, and Marvel's Wolverine IP should lure in many gamers who have longed to play a full-fledged triple-A game dedicated to James 'Logan' Howlett. However, with great power comes great responsibility, as someone once told Peter Parker; in this case, with a powerful IP also comes a heavy royalty of about 20% (according to the 2023 ransomware leak, anyway) on each sale. Insomniac also won't be able to count on PC sales this time around, given Sony's decision to go back to console exclusives. Lastly, the formula is a bit different from Spider-Man, which was an open world title set in New York; Wolverine will be a linear story-driven game. Even so, the sheer pedigree alone should ensure a modicum of success.
September 24 - Control Resonant ($59.99)
Remedy is a highly respected game developer that often had to deal with critically acclaimed games underperforming on the sales front. Alan Wake 2 is arguably the poster child for that issue, having won many awards and secured an average review score of 89, while sales took a long time to surpass 2 million units.
Remedy fans are therefore legitimately worried for Control Resonant, too, especially with this crazy schedule, but there are reasons to be optimistic. While the games are both set in the Remedy Connected Universe, Control sold 6 million units, more than the first and second Alan Wake combined (not counting Alan Wake Remastered here). The first installment's genre was already less niche than Alan Wake, and it may be even more appealing in Control Resonant, which switched to an action RPG to provide increased player freedom and replayability.
September 24 - Silent Hill: Townfall ($49.99)
Silent Hill: Townfall is arguably the unknown quantity in this lot. Sure, KONAMI's iconic horror IP returned with a vengeance thanks to the Silent Hill 2 remake and Silent Hill f, but Townfall is from another developer and is set in another place entirely.
The developer, Screen Burn Interactive, was previously known as No Code Limited, under which name it released Stories Untold and Observation. Solid games, but no masterpieces. Townfall does have two standout features compared to the rest of the pack: it's the only horror game and also the only game played in first-person, although the latter could be a double-edged sword since Silent Hill fans aren't really used to that. This game, perhaps more than the others, could use a delay, even if that gets it closer to GTA 6; though it does have a slightly lower price, which could help.
September 25 - Onimusha: Way of the Sword ($69.99)
The launch date of Onimusha: Way of the Sword was leaked a couple of days ago and turned out to be true, as confirmed by CAPCOM during the State of Play.
The Japanese developer has been on a roll for a long time, and as such, can be assured that its many fans will show up. Even so, Onimusha returns with a new game exactly twenty years after the last installment, Dawn of Dreams, which was released for the PlayStation 2. Granted, the action game fantasy of fighting against the demonic Oni has been kept alive by KOEI TECMO's Nioh, but that one is an action RPG that even added open world design in the most recent installment. On the other hand, Onimusha: Way of the Sword is a single player linear action/adventure game. PRAGMATA was structured in much the same way, but it enjoyed a far more comfortable release schedule.
Bonus September Challengers
As I hinted earlier in this article, the aforementioned five games aren't the only major titles scheduled for September:
- Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War IV launches on September 17 at $59.99 (minus a 10% pre-order discount). Granted, it's a PC-only game in a niche genre (real-time strategy), but it still has a sizable fanbase that is guaranteed to buy it, inevitably limiting how many other games they'll buy that month.
- Dune: Awakening just announced its September 22 launch on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series S|X consoles for $49.99. The update will also introduce a single player mode, opening the game to an even wider audience.
- Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve ($69.99) technically launches on October 2, but its Deluxe Edition ($20 more expensive) grants three days of early access, thus allowing gamers to start playing on September 29.
Which of these games are you planning to purchase this September? Vote in the poll below and explain why in the comments section!
About the author: With over two decades of experience in gaming journalism, Alessio Palumbo has led the gaming vertical at Wccftech since August 2015. He started working at a young age for Italian websites like Everyeye.it, Gamestar.it, Nextgame.it, and Multiplayer.it before kickstarting the indie English-language publication Worlds Factory as its founder and Editor in Chief. In the last decade, he has coordinated the overall output of Wccftech's gaming section, managed PR relations, assigned reviews, produced daily news coverage, edited gaming content as needed, and delivered game reviews. Arguably, his trademark content is the long series of exclusive developer interviews that have been cited by Wikipedia and by the biggest news media and gaming publications. His passion for technology also makes him knowledgeable when it comes to gaming hardware and tech. His favorite genres include RPGs, MMORPGs, and action/adventure games.
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