Grounded crossplay: Is it cross-platform with Xbox and PC?

Grounded
(Image credit: Xbox Game Studios)

After a two-year long Early Access period, Obsidian Entertainment's wild and unique new survival game Grounded is finally finished and has been released in full. In the midst of all the launch hype, though, something many players have wondered about is whether or not it supports cross-platform features like crossplay and cross-progression between the Xbox and PC versions of the game. 

If you're looking for answers, don't worry — we've got you covered. In this guide, we'll go over everything you need to know about Grounded's cross-platform functionality, including whether or not it has crossplay and cross-progression as well as details about the game's multiplayer structure.

Does Grounded have crossplay?

(Image credit: Xbox Game Studios)

Yes. Grounded fully supports crossplay multiplayer between the Xbox and PC versions of the game, both on the Microsoft Store and on Steam. Everyone your group plans to play with will need an Xbox Live account, which Xbox and Microsoft Store users will already have, and Steam users will be prompted to create one for free or sign into when they launch the game. Then, the host of the game simply needs to add everyone else's Xbox Live account to their Friends List so that they can invite them to multiplayer sessions.

Grounded supports co-op between up to four Xbox and PC players on both Standard Worlds and Shared Worlds. The former are "normal" worlds hosted by one player that are inaccessible whenever that player isn't present, while the latter are worlds stored in the cloud that can be shared with other players so that they can host multiplayer sessions even if the original host isn't online. Notably, all gameplay progress is saved regardless of who hosts future sessions.

Players can also turn Standard Worlds into Shared Worlds and also have the ability to save a Shared World as a local Standard World that can be played offline. Players can own up to three Shared Worlds at any given time and have up to 50 of them shared.

Does Grounded have cross-progression?

(Image credit: Windows Central)

Yes. Grounded allows you to transfer your worlds and in-game progress between the Xbox and PC platforms. This means that you can switch between playing on a console and on a PC whenever you want and keep full access to your saved files and Shared Worlds, which is fantastic.

Note that in order to do this, you need to use the same Xbox Live account on both your Xbox and your PC version of the game. If you don't, cross-progression won't work since you'd be signed into different Xbox accounts on each platform.

Grounded is officially out now on Xbox and PC for $30, and has quickly proven itself to be one of the best Xbox games of all time for fans of survival games thanks to its unique and creative theming, content-rich open world, and deep crafting, upgrade, and combat systems.

Grounded

Grounded

Over two years of development in early access have led to one of the most impressive survival games released in recent memory, and one of the top Xbox games of 2022. Grounded is an experience that simply shouldn't be missed, especially if you can play with friends.

Buy from: Xbox | Steam

Brendan Lowry

Brendan Lowry is a Windows Central writer and Oakland University graduate with a burning passion for video games, of which he's been an avid fan since childhood. He's been writing for Team WC since the summer of 2017, and you'll find him doing news, editorials, reviews, and general coverage on everything gaming, Xbox, and Windows PC. His favorite game of all time is probably NieR: Automata, though Elden Ring, Fallout: New Vegas, and Team Fortress 2 are in the running, too. When he's not writing or gaming, there's a good chance he's either watching an interesting new movie or TV show or actually going outside for once. Follow him on X (Twitter).