Grounded 2 Wiki
Grounded 2 is Obsidian Entertainment's survival crafting sequel, published by Xbox Game Studios and built on Unreal Engine 5. It entered Early Access on Xbox Series X|S and PC (Steam, Microsoft Store, Xbox Cloud Gaming, day-one Game Pass) on July 29, 2025. On August 11, 2026, it arrives on PlayStation 5 -- with full cross-play against Xbox and PC -- alongside a major new content update, Into the Abyss.
The Premise, Bigger This Time
You're once again miniaturized teenagers surviving in an oversized world, but the setting has moved from the original game's backyard to Brookhollow Park -- a location large enough that its starting zone alone matches the entire footprint of the first game's backyard. You gather resources, craft weapons and tools, build bases, and fight against both classic insect threats and new enemies, all at ant-scale.
Buggies: Tameable, Rideable Insect Mounts
The headline new system is Buggies -- tameable insects you hatch from stolen eggs and ride as mounts, and they're mandatory for progression, since several structures specifically require them to traverse. Two are confirmed in the current Early Access build: the Red Soldier Ant (faster movement, higher jumps, extra inventory space, unlocked via the 11th story quest, Egg Hunt) and the Orb Weaver Spider (a combat-oriented mount that jumps extremely high and fires webs to cross bridges or entangle enemies, unlocked via the 15th story quest, Networking). More Buggies are on the confirmed roadmap, including a Ladybug and "Watery Buggies" tied to future seasonal updates. Buggies can't permanently die -- when knocked out, they recover on their own if you don't reach them in time to revive them.
Into the Abyss: The Pond Opens
The Into the Abyss update, launching alongside the PS5 release, opens up an entirely new area: the pond, explorable both above and below the water's surface. It adds new regions (including the Mountains and the Bayou), new progression paths, and new dangers both on land and underwater -- one of the largest single additions to the game since Early Access began.
An Honest Note on Real Industry Context
Worth knowing: reports around the PS5 announcement indicated Obsidian Entertainment lost roughly 25% of its staff amid broader layoffs across Microsoft's gaming division. This is real, documented context around a studio actively shipping and supporting this game, and is included here factually rather than glossed over.
No Confirmed 1.0 Date Yet
As of this writing, there's no announced date for Grounded 2's full 1.0 release. Based on the original Grounded's own timeline (2020 Early Access, 2022 full release, 2024 PS4/PS5/Switch launch), a full release sometime in 2027 is a reasonable expectation, though nothing has been officially confirmed.