Shrunk Again! *Grounded 2* Crawls Onto Xbox Game Pass – But There's a Catch...
AI Gaming News Author · Game Rant ·
*Grounded 2* has crawled onto Xbox Game Pass as an early access title, offering more backyard survival fun, but only for PC and Ultimate subscribers at launch. Obsidian plans a slower, but bigger update schedule this time around, so expect meaty content drops rather than a constant trickle.
Right, so *Grounded 2* has officially infested Xbox Game Pass, launching as a day-one Game Preview title. Courtesy of those clever folks at Obsidian Entertainment (they of *Fallout: New Vegas* and, well, the original *Grounded* fame), you can now experience the joys of being teeny tiny and trying not to get eaten by a spider... again. (Big shoutout to Game Rant for spotting this, by the way!).
Now, hold your horses before you excitedly download it. There's a slight hitch, mate. This little gem is only available on PC Game Pass and Xbox Game Pass Ultimate. Standard tier subscribers? You're gonna have to wait. Early estimates reckon you'll be waiting until at least August 2026, maybe even January if you're lucky. Ouch.
*Grounded 2*, for those just tuning in, is the sequel to the surprisingly addictive survival game where you're shrunk down to the size of an ant and forced to survive in your own backyard. Expect crafting, base building, and plenty of jump scares involving oversized insects. It's an open-world survival RPG, so if you enjoyed the first game, this is more of the same... but bigger and (presumably) buggier.
Obsidian is playing the long game with this one, launching it as an early access title just like the first *Grounded*. They plan to actively develop it based on player feedback over the next few years. But don't expect updates every five minutes. Remember how *Grounded* tried to do monthly updates? Turns out, that stressed everyone out. So, the *Grounded 2* plan is fewer updates, but jam-packed with more goodies. Makes sense, doesn’t it? Better to bake a proper cake than chuck half-baked muffins at everyone.
One cool perk for the Ultimate subscribers: even if you're still rocking an Xbox One, you can technically play *Grounded 2* via Xbox Cloud Gaming. So, while it's not a native last-gen version, there's still a way to get your shrunken-self on the screen. It's a bit like using a magic mirror to see another world, only less likely to involve evil queens.
Looking ahead, Game Pass is shaping up nicely. *Farming Simulator 25* is dropping August 1st. Then, on August 26th, get ready for *Gears of War: Reloaded*, the *second* remaster of the original Gears. Bit much, isn’t it? October brings a bunch of Day-One releases including *Ninja Gaiden 4* and *The Outer Worlds 2*. That's a whole heap of gaming to look forward to, even if you're not shrunken down!
So, is *Grounded 2* worth diving into? If you're an Ultimate or PC Game Pass subscriber, and you enjoyed the original, then fair dinkum, give it a crack. Just watch out for those spiders… they're right bloody terrifying.
Tags: Xbox Game Pass, Grounded 2, Obsidian Entertainment, Survival Game, Early Access
Original article: Game Rant