Surgeon Simulator 2, Final Fantasy XIII, The Artful Escape, and more join Xbox Game Pass in September

Surgeon Simulator 2 Screenshot
Surgeon Simulator 2 Screenshot (Image credit: Bossa Studios)

What you need to know

  • Xbox Game Pass is a value-driven subscription service that grants users to hundreds of games across multiple platforms.
  • Xbox loves to reveal upcoming additions to Xbox Game Pass through batches revealed once or twice a month.
  • As we enter September, Xbox has taken the wraps off the titles joining the service in the coming weeks.
  • Xbox Game Pass is gaining games like Surgeon Simulator 2: Access All Areas, Final Fantasy XIII, and more.

As we celebrate entering pre-spooky month with the arrival of September, Xbox is giving us something more to look forward to with the latest Xbox Game Pass-specific news. With an incredibly busy August adding tons of excellent games to Xbox Game Pass, September has a lot to live up to. Fortunately, Xbox has now revealed the games heading to Xbox Game Pass in Sept. 2021, which will continue to grow the service with new titles and increased variety.

Source: Xbox (Image credit: Source: Xbox)

The highlight of this month's additions is undoubtedly Final Fantasy XIII, Surgeon Simulator 2: Access All Areas, incredible-looking indie The Artful Escape, and much more. There's something for everyone here, but this time around the additions are mostly dominated by indie titles. Still, the best Xbox Game Pass games continue to face increasingly challenging competition, as Xbox Game Pass adds new entries to its growing roster.

The games on this list can head everywhere that Xbox Game Pass is available, including Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, Xbox One, PC, and Xbox Cloud Gaming. It's easy to lose track of everything coming to and leaving from Xbox Game Pass, which is why we've got you covered.

Coming soon

You can check out all the titles coming soon to Xbox Game Pass and Xbox Cloud gaming below:

Craftopia (Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PC, & Xbox Cloud Gaming) — Sept. 2

You arrive on a small island packed with animals, resources, and infinite possibilities. What you do in this game is completely up to you – gather resources, harvest crops, fight bosses, capturing enemies, building a lovely house, unlocking new islands, exploring the world, and more! What will you do when you can do anything you've ever dreamt of?

Final Fantasy XIII (Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, & PC) — Sept. 2

Final Fantasy XIII is a fantasy RPG in which a band of brave humans struggle against fate in the utopian sky city of Cocoon and the primeval world of Pulse. Follow stylish heroine Lightning's fast-paced battles and high adventure in a mysterious new world.

Signs of the Sojourner (Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PC, & Xbox Cloud Gaming) — Sept. 2

A narrative card game about connecting with people. Your deck is your character, reflecting your experiences, and shaping your relationships. Travel to diverse locations to acquire goods for your shop. Along the way, you'll encounter optimistic stories, compassionate characters, and delightful surprises in a world where climate change has made life hard.

Surgeon Simulator 2 (Xbox Series X|S Optimized, Xbox One, PC, & Xbox Cloud Gaming) — Sept. 2

Bob's life is in your hand! Scrub-in solo or with up to three friends in this physics-based sim and unearth the mysteries of the Bossa Labs Medical Facility, explore hundreds of community-made levels, and even create your own using the sandbox level building tool. Or, if you prefer, spend your time replacing all of Bob's limbs with heads – that also works.

Crown Trick (Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, & PC) — Sept. 7

Welcome to The Nightmare Realm! Guide protagonist Elle on a perilous journey through procedurally generated dungeons, carefully navigating unique enemies and traps that only move when Elle does thanks to Crown Trick's unique synchronous turn-based mechanic. Strategically plan each move to survive, master a combination of skills, Familiars, and weapons to escape the labyrinth.

Breathedge (Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PC, & Xbox Cloud Gaming) — Sept. 9

Inspired by Retrofuturism, Soviet aesthetics, and dark comedy movies, Breathedge is a fresh take on the survival genre that puts you in control of a simple guy called the Man who is carrying his grandpa's ashes to a galactic funeral and suddenly finds himself in the middle of a universal conspiracy.

Nuclear Throne (Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, & PC) — Sept. 9

Nuclear Throne is a post-apocalyptic roguelike-like top-down shooter. Fight your way through the wastelands with powerful weaponry, collecting radiation to mutate some new limbs and abilities. All these things and more you could do if only you were good at this game. Can you reach the Nuclear Throne?

The Artful Escape (Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, & PC) — Sept. 9

A teenage guitar prodigy sets out on a psychedelic, multidimensional journey to inspire his stage persona and confront the legacy of a dead folk legend. Starring voice performances by Michael Johnston, Caroline Kinley, Lena Headey, Jason Schwartzman, Mark Strong, and Carl Weathers.

Leaving soon

You can check out all the titles leaving soon from Xbox Game Pass and Xbox Cloud Gaming below:

Leaving Sept. 13

  • Red Dead Online (Xbox Series X|S Optimized, Xbox One, & Xbox Cloud Gaming)

Leaving Sept. 15

  • Company of Heroes 2 (PC)
  • Disgaea 4 (PC)
  • Forza Motorsport 7 (Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PC, & Xbox Cloud Gaming)
  • Hotshot Racing (Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, & Xbox Cloud Gaming)
  • The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance Tactics (Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PC, & Xbox Cloud Gaming)
  • Thronebreaker: The Witcher Tales (Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, & Xbox Cloud Gaming)
Zachary Boddy
Staff Writer

Zachary Boddy (They / Them) is a Staff Writer for Windows Central, primarily focused on covering the latest news in tech and gaming, the best Xbox and PC games, and the most interesting Windows and Xbox hardware. They have been gaming and writing for most of their life starting with the original Xbox, and started out as a freelancer for Windows Central and its sister sites in 2019. Now a full-fledged Staff Writer, Zachary has expanded from only writing about all things Minecraft to covering practically everything on which Windows Central is an expert, especially when it comes to Microsoft. You can find Zachary on Twitter @BoddyZachary.