The August content update for Grounded is finally here, adds new quests, perks, and a bird

By Zachary Boddy
last updated

At long last, the first major update for Grounded.

Grounded Screenshot Hedge Dusk
Grounded Screenshot Hedge Dusk (Image credit: Obsidian Entertainment)

What you need to know

  • Grounded is a fantastic co-op survival game from Obsidian Entertainment.
  • The game is currently in Early Access and Game Preview, but has already gained tons of fans.
  • After a lot of wait, Grounded's first big content update is rolling out, alongside lots of bug fixes.
  • The August content update for Grounded will add new features to the game, but we're still waiting on specifics.

It seems like we've been waiting for ages, but Grounded is finally beginning the roll out for its first major content update, which we've been speculating about for ages. We've already seen all of the bug fixes and improvements, but now we can finally see what new features, gameplay, and mechanics the August content update for Grounded is adding. The 0.2.0 update for Grounded is a big milestone for the small team at Obsidian Entertainment, and marks the beginning of a (hopefully) long and successful future for this unique survival game.

The Grounded August content update includes the following new features:

  • 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

This is a pretty decent changelog, adding new long-term features like a perk system to upgrade your character, new crafting recipes, additional quest types from BURG.L, and crafting recipes for base building. There is also one new insect added in this update, which should make the flooded biome, or the pond, more lively.

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More importantly, the update also adds a giant bird, which frankly looks quite terrifying! Along with the bird should come new crafting recipes and crafting materials, but I don't expect players will be slaying this gargantuan avian creature, and instead will be collecting feathers and possibly other materials.

Overall, the update is more conservative, as we were expecting, but it still marks the beginning of many great updates for Grounded, and lays the groundwork for further improvements with quests, character upgrades, crafting, and biomes. We can't wait to see what the update adds in the future!

As an unrelated side note, the Grounded tweet announcing the new content update does confirm what we already suspected: Grounded has officially crossed into the "millions" of players, beyond the million we reported on two days after Grounded released. This shouldn't come as any surprise due to Grounded's early success, but it's still great to see it confirmed from an official source.

If the August content update for Grounded has encouraged you to make the plunge, anybody is still welcome to buy-in to Grounded's Early Access and Game Preview and enjoy everything the game has to offer. We've already been inside Grounded and are loving every minute of it, so we've got some beginning tips, some knowledge about base building, and everything you need to know about Grounded's basic tools and weapons. Make sure to check out our Grounded guides for everything you could need on Obsidian Entertainment's latest project.

How do you feel about Grounded's August content update? Is this a good start for Grounded, or were you expecting more for the first feature drop? Let us know in the comments below!

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Grounded

It's a big(ger) world out there.

Obsidian Entertainment makes its 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 and are forced to survive in a dangerous backyard.

Grounded

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Zachary Boddy
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.

3 Comments
  • Does anyone else's game slow way down when trying to look for ant eggs in the main anthill on the west end of the map? It's been a nightmare, near complete freezing or dropping to 1-2 frames every 4-5 seconds
  • Have you tried with the new update installed? Grounded did make some changes that should hopefully help with that.
  • This is got slightly better with the update. It's annoying bc our backpacks are down there after trying to get eggs and we keep getting killed by soldier ants. There are dozens of soldiers down there. 3 of us are trying to kill all ants to respawn eggs, and it's nice the update shows you where eggs will be, but now, every few seconds it'll hang a second. This happens on my One, One X, and PC. Though next I'm going to try Solo cuz maybe it's an issue with 3 of us there. It might also be an issue work our lookout tower we built. Seems to have happened after that, like the game has an issue. It's a 30-story tower with a lean-to and loads of food, weapons, etc. Fun to jump off of too. It took 2 real days to build over by the mysterious machine, and makes scouting items A LOT easier