Grounded 2 Release Date Set for July 29, 2025 Early Access Launch
During the recent Xbox Games Showcase in June 2025, a sequel to the popular miniaturized survival adventure, Grounded, was officially announced. Titled Grounded 2, the game is set to launch into early access on July 29, 2025. As for timing, it looks like Grounded 2 is launching around 5pm UTC.
The original Grounded, developed by Obsidian Entertainment, carved out a unique niche in the survival genre by shrinking players down to the size of an ant and setting them loose in a surprisingly perilous backyard. It was a charming and often challenging experience, and it seems Grounded 2 aims to expand on that foundation significantly.
If you’re looking to do a playthrough of the Original Grounded before you jump into Grounded 2, why not take a look at all our Grounded Guides and Interactive Map!
A New, Expansive Playground
For Grounded 2, players will find themselves once again miniaturized, but this time, the adventure unfolds in a new setting: Brookhollow Park. Early information suggests this new environment will be considerably larger than the first game’s backyard, promising more varied biomes and hidden secrets to uncover. It sounds like they’re really pushing the scale, which is an interesting direction to take a game about being tiny.
One of the more notable new gameplay features confirmed for Grounded 2 is the introduction of rideable insects, which they’re calling “Buggies.” The ability to tame and mount creatures like Red Ant Soldiers or Orb Weaver Spiders for traversal and combat was a highly requested feature by the community for the first game, so it’s good to see Obsidian Entertainment and co-developer Eidos-Montréal listening to that feedback. This addition alone could significantly alter how players navigate the oversized world and approach confrontations with the park’s various inhabitants.
Early Access Details and Game Pass Availability
Similar to its predecessor, Grounded 2 will enter early access through Xbox Game Preview and Steam Early Access. This approach allows the development teams to gather player feedback and iterate on the game’s core systems before a full release. The early access version is expected to provide players with a substantial portion of the new Brookhollow Park to explore, along with access to new crafting tools, weapons, and the aforementioned Buggy system.
For those subscribed to Microsoft’s service, Grounded 2 will be available on Xbox Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass on its early access launch day. This is a common and welcome move for first-party Xbox titles, making it accessible to a wide audience right from the start.
The co-development effort between Obsidian Entertainment, known for titles like Fallout: New Vegas and Pillars of Eternity, and Eidos-Montréal, the studio behind games such as Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy, is certainly noteworthy. It suggests a substantial undertaking to bring Grounded 2 to life, and the combined expertise could lead to a polished and content-rich experience even in early access. It’s always a positive sign when developers have a clear vision and the resources to execute it.
While a full release date beyond early access hasn’t been set, the developers have indicated they plan for more spaced-out updates compared to the original Grounded‘s more frequent patches. This might mean larger, more substantial content drops, which could be beneficial in the long run for the game’s overall quality and stability. We’ll likely hear more about their early access roadmap closer to the July 29 launch.
Grounded found its audience with its unique premise and engaging survival mechanics. With Grounded 2 expanding the world and introducing new features like bug mounts, it will be interesting to see how the community reacts to this new, larger, and potentially more dangerous environment.