September 2026 Game Releases Include Onimusha Revival, New Fire Emblem, Orbitals and Control Resonant

Onimusha: Way of the Sword is Capcom’s first new entry in the series in about 20 years, after 2006’s Shin Onimusha: Dawn of Dreams. It launched for PS5, Xbox Series X|S, Switch 2 and PC. The producer and director had previously worked on Capcom action series such as Sengoku Basara and Monster Hunter. In an interview with Game Watch, the producer said the company had long wanted a new Onimusha but gave priority to other projects and needed a large staff; as Capcom’s in-house RE Engine matured, a core team came together in early 2020. The game does not use a numbered title or directly inherit the old worldview, and the creators aimed to make it accessible to newcomers.

Set in Kyoto in the early Edo period, the game uses linear stages rather than an open world or Soulslike structure, though many locations in the city can be explored freely. Shaoshupai said the recreation of Kyoto received assistance from the Kyoto city government. The protagonist is Miyamoto Musashi in his twenties, before he was known as a sword saint. After otherworldly demons called Genma appear, he wears the Oni Gauntlet, a core series device that lets its bearer cross between the human world and the Genma realm. Combat returns the series’ Issen counter mechanic and adds a stamina or balance bar; attacks and parries reduce it, and emptying it creates an opening for a stronger Issen. A free demo offers two difficulty modes, one of which lowers the input barrier for combos. Capcom based Musashi’s face on the late actor Toshiro Mifune, and the producer said Mifune was an absolute condition; the company negotiated with Mifune Production for two years. VGC and GamesRadar+ found the combat strong but criticized the mid-game semi-open design and repetitive boss fights.

Fire Emblem: Wanlu Qiansi launched on Sept. 17 exclusively for Switch 2. It is set in the same world as 2019’s Fire Emblem: Three Houses and takes place on a southern continent, but it is positioned as a new game rather than a sequel and does not require players to finish Three Houses. The game has four protagonists and four routes that can mostly be switched at any time and eventually converge on the same ending. Its core directors are the same Intelligent Systems leaders behind Three Houses. According to an interview, Three Houses used Koei Tecmo for base development and became the series’ best-selling entry; the team wanted Wanlu Qiansi, made without Koei Tecmo’s involvement, to offer a different experience. Gameplay remains turn-based grid tactics with combat arts, weapon durability and class changes. Outside battle, players can move freely around the capital and world map to recruit, train and explore dungeons, though the main story can be pursued directly. RPG Site editor Cullen Black said the route structure can require players to clear the same map about four times in nearly the same way, and in a 161-hour playthrough the final dozen hours had little to do.

Orbitals launched on Sept. 3 for Switch 2. Developed by Japanese studio Shapefarm and published by Kepler Interactive, it is the studio’s first original title. Shapefarm was founded in 2010 with members from Europe, New Zealand, Argentina and Sweden, and spent the past decade on outsourcing and co-development. Game director Jakob Lundgren spent six and a half years at Hazelight as a level designer on A Way Out, It Takes Two and Split Fiction. Creative director Marcos Ramos worked on anime-licensed games such as Naruto to Boruto: Shinobi Striker. The game is a third-person action adventure that can only be played by two people. Its story follows childhood friends who cross a cosmic storm to seek help after their home world is trapped and near collapse. It lasts about six to eight hours and supports split-screen, local and online co-op; on Switch 2, GameShare allows two people to play from one purchase. Lundgren said he wanted to avoid sections where one player works while the other waits. Ramos told GameSpot that he believes people cannot deny themselves, and that even if the team made a chess game, it would become a co-op animated adventure within months.

The game’s visual style is its most prominent feature. In an Unreal Engine technical blog, the team explained that it simulates hand-drawn animation in 3D: character motion is animated on twos, some effects use fewer frames, lines are given noise to mimic imperfect hand-drawn redrawing, and cel shading preserves shadows that appear when physical cels are photographed against backgrounds. The influences include Akira for backgrounds, early Dragon Ball and Rumiko Takahashi works for character design, and Royal Space Force. Mami Ayukawa, known for theme songs for Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam and Heavy Metal L-Gaim, performed the opening and ending songs. Kotaku editor Kenneth Shepard wrote that the game plays beautifully but feels like someone else’s work: it recalls Hazelight’s structure, Cowboy Bebop’s space adventure and Neon Genesis Evangelion’s themes, and after finishing it he wanted to rewatch Evangelion.

Control Resonant launched on Sept. 24 for PS5, Xbox Series X|S and PC. It is developed and self-published by Finland’s Remedy Entertainment and is a sequel to 2019’s Control. Its story begins one year after FBC: Firebreak, according to the roundup.

Editor's Summary

September 2026’s release slate centered on Capcom’s long-awaited Onimusha revival and Nintendo’s new Fire Emblem entry, alongside the co-op animated adventure Orbitals and Remedy’s Control Resonant. The roundup highlights both the industry’s continued use of established series and the technical ambition behind titles such as Orbitals, while also noting critical concerns about repeated structure and derivative design.