Source: Obsidian Entertainment
What you need to know
- Grounded is an open world survival game from Obsidian Entertainment that is currently in early access.
- The game has already grown a lot, but still has a lot of plans before its eventual public release.
- The latest update, the Pond Update, is now out for everyone in the early access to try, after weeks of waiting.
- The Pond Update is Grounded's biggest update yet, adding new creatures, crafting, locations, and, of course, the koi fish.
After weeks of waiting, Grounded is dropping its biggest update yet, the truly massive Pond Update. The announcement is a bit of a surprise one, but Grounded released the update with a new message from the developers, bringing a whole host of brand-new features to Grounded that players can now dive into, if they're a part of Grounded's early access. Not only does this give players access to a huge new area to explore, new creatures to discover, new crafting recipes to use, and the terrifying koi fish, but we also get a hilarious new launch trailer that gives you a sneak peek at what to expect.
The feature list for the Pond Update is far too large to go over here, so I'll keep this section short. Grounded's November Content Update includes:
- An overhauled pond biome
- New creatures including diving bell spiders, tadpoles, and water boatmen
- New locations, landmarks, and an underwater lab to explore
- New crafting recipes for gear, building parts, and more
- The terrifying koi fish, which should be avoided at all cost
If you want a little bit more of a quick dive into the Pond Update, there's also a new Developer Vlog featuring the latest release, which you can watch above. We also were lucky enough to interview Adam Brenneke, from the Grounded team at Obsidian Entertainment, and spoke with him about Grounded, the Pond Update, and even some next-gen gaming features. Speaking of next-gen features, the content update today should also include Grounded's next-gen enhancements for the Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S, which will bring improved load speeds, visuals, and performance to the game with next-gen consoles.
You can purchase Grounded's early access right now from Microsoft or Steam, but the game is also available through Xbox Game Pass. If you want to enjoy the best possible version of the game on Xbox Series X|S, but haven't secured your own console yet, be sure to keep an eye on our guide to the best places to buy the Xbox Series X|S.
Microscopic survival

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.
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