Obsidian Entertainment was already planning to have a stacked 2025 between February's fantasy Pillars of Eternity RPG Avowed and October's upcoming Fallout: New Vegas-inspired The Outer Worlds 2, but that didn't stop the developer from announcing a third game coming out this year at last month's Xbox Games Showcase.
That title is Grounded 2 — a surprise sequel to the studio's highly popular 2020 open-world survival game that puts you in the teeny tiny shoes of teenagers shrunken down to the size of insects. It's slated to be one of the biggest Xbox and Windows PC games of the year, now just days away from its Early Access release. And now, thanks to new details, we know exactly it's coming out on its release date.
It's been confirmed that Grounded 2 is officially scheduled to go live on July 29 at 10:00 a.m. PT / 1:00 p.m. ET, with the launch occurring globally at the same time. Notably, this does mean that regions east of the US will get access later in the day due to time zones, with countries in Eastern Europe, Asia, and Australia having to wait until the morning of July 30.
The official graphic below shows precisely when you'll be able to start playing Grounded 2 in various time zones, though I've also organized its information into a table below it if you'd prefer that.
Time zone | Launch time |
|---|---|
PDT | July 29, 10:00 a.m. |
CST | July 29, 11:00 a.m. |
EDT | July 29, 1:00 p.m. |
BRT | July 29, 2:00 p.m. |
BST | July 29, 6:00 p.m. |
CEST | July 29, 7:00 p.m. |
KST | July 30, 2:00 a.m. |
JST | July 30, 2:00 a.m. |
AEST | July 30, 3:00 a.m. |
NZST | July 30, 5:00 a.m. |
Like the original Grounded, Grounded 2 is centered around the same "Honey, I Shrunk the Kids!" inspired premise, and will be playable on Xbox Series X|S, the Xbox PC app, and Valve's PC gaming client Steam — with availability on Microsoft's buffet-style gaming service Xbox Game Pass on the former two platforms as well, and Xbox Play Anywhere supporting cross-progression between them.
Though it's launching into Early Access/Game Preview, the sequel will still feature more content and expanded, deeper features at release compared to the final version of the original survival game. For example, we know players will have several additional options for crafting gear, base-building, and the RPG-style progression of their character.
Fans can also look forward to a colossal Brookhollow Park map to explore; the mere 20% of it we'll have access to when Early Access begins will match the size of the first game's Backyard, with future updates set to majorly expand it. Various new bugs to fight and interact with are on the way, too, and there are hints of a deeper narrative as well.
Perhaps Grounded 2's biggest new feature, though, is "Buggy" mounts — tamed bugs you can ride around for faster travel, help transporting supplies, or for a useful ally in combat. Initially, you'll only be able to make ant soldiers and orb weaver spiders a "buggy," but Obsidian says you'll be able to recruit other creepy crawlies in the future.
When it comes out next week, Grounded 2 will cost $29.99 to purchase on Xbox or both of its Windows PC platforms; note that when it eventually leaves Early Access, it will likely get a price bump up to $39.99 like the first game did.
There will also be a Founder's Edition you can buy for $39.99 that includes skins, emotes, and a digital artbook and soundtrack, along with a $9.99 Founder's Pack that will upgrade a standard edition or Game Pass player's game with the same extra goodies.
Speaking of Game Pass, something important to note is that while you can play on Xbox, PC, and Xbox Cloud Gaming with the $19.99/month Xbox Game Pass Ultimate and on PC through the $11.99/month PC Game Pass, the console-specific $14.99/month Xbox Game Pass Standard tier will not include access to Grounded 2 at launch. This is because that tier doesn't have new first-party Xbox games on it right away.
That's unfortunate, but the good news is that you don't have to pay for Xbox Game Pass Ultimate at full price if you want to use Game Pass to play Obsidian's new sequel. You can often find sweet deals on time for the service, with the best one available currently being one-month memberships for just $10.19 at CDKeys.
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