Grounded for Xbox and PC: Everything you need to know
After their arrival into the Xbox Game Studios family, and the launch of RPG hit Outer Worlds, Obsidian Entertainment quickly moved on to their next project: Grounded. This unique, quirky survival game shrinks the players to the size of bugs and lets them loose in an average backyard, that quickly turns into a dangerous battleground. An Xbox and PC exclusive, Grounded looks like it could be a survival classic.
Here’s everything you need to know about Grounded on Xbox One and PC.
Microscopic survival
Grounded
It’s a big(ger) world out there.
Obsidian Entertainment makes their exclusive debut on Xbox One and PC with Grounded, a unique survival experience that literally makes all of your problems much, much bigger. Join your friends as you’re shrunk down to the size of an ant, forced to survive in a dangerous backyard.
What is Grounded for Xbox One and PC?
Source: Obsidian Entertainment
It’s a big(ger) world out there.
Obsidian Entertainment makes their exclusive debut on Xbox One and PC with Grounded, a unique survival experience that literally makes all of your problems much, much bigger. Join your friends as you’re shrunk down to the size of an ant, forced to survive in a dangerous backyard.
What are the latest news and leaks for Grounded?
Grounded gets its first major content update, adding new perks and a bird—August 26, 2020
The first major Grounded update finally arrived, and it includes a very lengthy list of bug fixes, as well as some new features. Additions include a bird, new character perks, quests, crafting, and more. The update is an exciting step for Grounded, and hints at what the future can offer. Original report can be found here, and all changelogs for Grounded can be found here.
Grounded gets a new fan kit including concept art, screenshots, and more—August 22, 2020
To thank fans for all their support, Obsidian Entertainment released a new fan kit for Grounded that includes concept art, screenshots, wallpapers, and more for players to use however they want. The fan kit can be downloaded for free as well. Original report can be found here.
Grounded’s second patch is much smaller, but still important—August 12, 2020
The second patch for Grounded is smaller than the first, but it’s still essential to making the game more stable, and resolves more major issues for the game. You can find the original report here, and all changelogs for Grounded can be found here.
Grounded’s first patch fixes lots of bugs with the early access—August 6, 2020
Now out in full force, the Grounded team is working hard to resolve any issues and bugs. The first patch update for Grounded resolved several multiplayer issues, as well as problems that result in game crashes and fixes. You can find the original report here, and all changelogs for Grounded can be found here.
Grounded gets a tiny patch just for Windows 7 users—July 31, 2020
A small patch rolled out for Grounded that focused entirely on resolving login issues for Windows 7 players, letting them join in on the action. You can find the original report here.
Grounded gets a brand-new trailer at the Xbox Games Showcase—July 23, 2020
At the Xbox Games Showcase, Grounded got a brand-new trailer filled with humorous jokes, and even a reference to Cyberpunk 2077. You can check out the full trailer here, which gets us all hyped for the upcoming Game Preview on July 28, 2020.
Where can I watch the trailers for Grounded?
Right here! These are all the trailers and official gameplay videos so far for Grounded, in chronological order for your viewing pleasure.
The reveal
The story
The gameplay
The Xbox Showcase
The thank you
The August update
Who is developing Grounded?
Source: Obsidian Entertainment
Their next project is a side project by a passionate group of only 13 developers, who are all working very hard on an all-new franchise that takes the premise of the classic movie “Honey, I Shrunk the Kids” and imagines it as a difficult survival title. The game will also be developed alongside an Early Access program for Xbox One and PC so that the developers behind it can gather feedback and make changes before the game officially releases sometime in 2021.
What is the story and setting in Grounded?
Source: Obsidian Entertainment
Someone (or an organization) conspired to shrink you down, and now you have to get to the bottom of why and how this was done to discover the method to return to your normal size. Apparently, the Early Access for the game will include the initial 20% of Grounded’s storyline, but after that, we’ll have to wait for the full release of the game. The story for Grounded can be summed up by one sizzler sentence in the official story trailer: Go big, or never go home.
What is the gameplay and content in Grounded?
Source: Obsidian Entertainment
The game also has a full ecosystem that continues to run even while you aren’t around. For example, if you kill a particular kind of insect in one area, that insect’s predators will go elsewhere to look for food. In another example, ants are non-aggressive, merely taking food they find. However, if you continue to kill their scouts, the colony will send soldier ants after you. Wolf spiders hunt at night, burrowing during the day. All these factors and more make the world in which you live feel more real and dynamic.
Related: How to use Grounded’s Arachnophobia Safe Mode
This means there are many kinds of insects, with possibly more added in the future, and distinct “biomes” to explore as well with unique landscapes and ecosystems. Obsidian Entertainment also wants to include dynamic weather at some point as well, so the world can truly feel like it moves and breathes on its own. The development team wants to continuously improve and add to the game until its eventual release in 2021.
What is the content roadmap for Grounded?
Source: Obsidian Entertainment
You can always find the changelogs for every content and patch update here as well, so you can keep up to date with the latest changes.
Content update 0.2.0 (August 26, 2020)
The very first content update for Grounded dropped August 26, 2020, and was a more conservative update, as we expected. That doesn’t mean it didn’t add plenty of goodies for players to sink their teeth into, however. Besides lots of bug fixes, the first content update for Grounded included:
- Bird!—Includes new crafting materials and recipes from bird feathers
- Perk system with 13 unique perks to discover!
- New BURG.L Quest types: Artificer (crafting quests) and Chipsleuth (quests asking you to locate BURG.L chips)
- Added Fence buildings (Sprig and Acorn)
- Added Table buildings (Grass and Clover)
- Added Water Flea ambient insect to flooded biome
What should I know about the Early Access or Game Preview for Grounded?
Source: Obsidian Entertainment
This Early Access program will be on Steam for PC, as well as the Xbox Game Preview program for the Microsoft Store on PC and Xbox One.
Related: Everything you need to know about Grounded’s Early Access and Game Preview programs
What will the Early Access, and Game Preview include?
According to Grounded, the Early Access and Game Preview program will include the following game features:
- Roughly 20% of the full storyline
- 3 major biomes—the grasslands, the hedge, and the haze
- Crafting
- Base building
- Single-player and online co-op play
- First two tiers of weapons and armor
- At least ten insects
- Arachnophobia mode
The team behind Grounded will continuously add new content to the game as they collect feedback from the community, so of course, this list is subject to change in the future.
How can I join the Early Access or Game Preview?
To join the Early Access program on Steam, you’ll have to wait until it drops on July 28, 2020, for pricing information and further availability details. For those on Xbox One or playing through the Microsoft Store, all you have to do is be a part of Xbox Game Pass. That’s right, even the Game Preview of Grounded will be launching day one into Game Pass, so you can jump right into the game the moment it’s available to test. For those not on Game Pass, you’ll also have to wait for more pricing information.
If you’re playing on PC, you’ll probably want to ensure your PC meets the minimum or recommended requirements first, however.
The Early Access or Game Preview should continue until the game fully releases, giving players plenty of time to watch the game grow (and plenty of time to figure out how to make your character grow). Once the game is officially released, players will be able to unlock all the content the game has to offer and hopefully play Grounded for years to come.
How much will the Early Access, and Game Preview cost?
Grounded’s early access will cost $30 at Microsoft and $30 at Steam, so players can jump in wherever they play. Grounded will also be included in Xbox Game Pass.
Players who buy into the Early Access or Game Preview early on will benefit from a consequent discount on the game, as Obsidian Entertainment intends to slowly increase the price of the game as new features and content are added over time, so if you’re interested in this game, you’ll want to jump in as quickly as possible. However, those playing through Game Pass won’t have to worry about this, as Grounded will always be included there.
How long will the Early Access and Game Preview last?
There’s no definitive date as of yet, but Grounded’s Early Access and Game Preview programs should continue right up until the game is fully released. Obsidian Entertainment has promised they want to keep the community updated continuously, and will provide their best guesses, with the understanding that plans can change further down the line.
How will Obsidian Entertainment involve the community?
It’s imperative that Obsidian is able to hear the voices of their community loud and clear, so there will be a variety of ways in which Grounded’s team will update testers and collect feedback. Be that through their website the development blog, Discord server, monthly dev diaries, or Twitter, there are plenty of ways for the feedback loop to stay in motion. We’re also keeping a full list of all the known issues, bugs, and problems in Grounded, as well as when specific issues are fixed by updates.
What Xbox gaming features will be supported in Grounded?
Source: Obsidian Entertainment
- Xbox Play Anywhere. Buy the game once, and own it on both Xbox One and Windows.
- Xbox Live online co-op. Play with your friends over Xbox Live.
- Cross-platform co-op. You can also play with friends who are playing on either Xbox One or Windows.
- Xbox One X enhanced. The game will have additional visual enhancements for the Xbox One X, but the exact details are unclear right now.
- Xbox cloud saves. No matter how many devices you game on, your save files will sync over the cloud.
Obsidian Entertainment is doing a fantastic job of supporting all of Microsoft’s gamer-friendly features right out the gate, which is incredible to see. While Minecraft Dungeons is an excellent game in and of itself, its lack of this support was strange, and hurts the game’s overall appeal for players who want to play with friends on other platforms, or have multiple devices. Grounded will not make the same mistakes, it seems.
What is the release date and price for Grounded?
Source: Obsidian Entertainment
The Early Access and Game Preview of Grounded is $30 at Microsoft and $30 at Steam, and should slowly increase in price as the early access continues, ending when the game fully releases. This means, at least right now, there are not multiple versions or editions.
We don’t know what the exact release date for Grounded is, only that’s it’s planned to be sometime in 2021. We also don’t know how much the game will cost, although since it’s a game built by a small team, it’s safe to assume it’s not going to be priced like a full-budget “AAA” title like Halo or Gears. We’ll be sure to keep our eyes peeled for all the latest tidbits and update this post the moment we know more about when Grounded is coming, and how much it’s going to cost. If you want to make sure you’re prepared, you can bolster your Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, which is $45 at Amazon for a 3-month subscription.
A big survival game at a small scale
Survival is a massive genre in video games, and there are a ton of people that adore pouring hours into these adventures. Taking the traditional survival formula we all know and love and looking at it from a much smaller perspective is brilliant, and I’m ecstatic to see what Grounded becomes over the following months. Obsidian Entertainment has a big reputation to uphold, but I think its smallest game might be just up to the task.
Are you excited to get your hands on this unique survival experience from Microsoft? What do you think about the premise of the game? Let us know in the comments below!
Microscopic survival
Grounded
It’s a big(ger) world out there.
Obsidian Entertainment makes their exclusive debut on Xbox One and PC with Grounded, a unique survival experience that literally makes all of your problems much, much bigger. Join your friends as you’re shrunk down to the size of an ant, forced to survive in a dangerous backyard.
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