Grounded for Xbox One and PC: Everything you need to know ~ System Admin Stuff

Honey, I shrunk the players.

After their arrival into the Xbox Game Studios family, and the launch of RPG hit Outer Worlds, Obsidian Entertainment quickly moved on to their next project: Grounded. This unique, quirky survival game shrinks the players to the size of bugs and lets them loose in an average backyard, that quickly turns into a dangerous battleground. An Xbox and PC exclusive, Grounded looks like it could be a survival classic.

Here's everything you need to know about Grounded on Xbox One and PC.

Play Grounded day one

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Xbox Game Pass Ultimate is a known value in gaming, combining your Xbox Live Gold membership for online multiplayer with Xbox Game Pass for both Xbox One and PC, with hundreds of games to choose from and play. This is made even better by the inclusion of Grounded, which will be on Game Pass from day one. It's the best way to play.

Grounded release date and price

So long before the game is slated to release officially, we don't have a ton of information regarding exact dates and pricing at the moment. What we can tell you is that the Early Access or Game Preview for Grounded will be available starting July 28, 2020, through Steam or the Microsoft Store. We also know that both the Game Preview and the final release of Grounded will be available through Xbox Game Pass day one, so subscribers won't have to lift a finger to have Obsidian Entertainment's latest game be available to them.

We don't know what the exact release date for Grounded is, only that's it's planned to be sometime in 2021. We also don't know how much the game will cost, although since it's a game built by a small team, it's safe to assume it's not going to be priced like a full-budget "AAA" title like Halo or Gears. We'll be sure to keep our eyes peeled for all the latest tidbits and update this post the moment we know more about when Grounded is coming, and how much it's going to cost. If you want to make sure you're prepared, you can bolster your Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, which is $45 at Amazon for a 3-month subscription.

What is Grounded for Xbox One and PC?

Grounded is an Xbox Game Studios title that will be exclusive to Xbox One and PC when it releases officially sometime in 2021. It's a co-op or single-player survival game that sees players scavenging supplies to survive in a hostile landscape: a backyard. Developed by heavy-weight studio Obsidian Entertainment, Grounded offers a unique, quirky experience you can't find anywhere else. Instead of continuously going bigger and grander, Grounded promises to make the mundane and boring exciting again.

Our very own Miles Dompier had some thoughts on Grounded when its initial demo first appeared. Our own preview of Obsidian Entertainment's passion project shows that Xbox Game Studios could have another big winner on its hand, following the success of Minecraft Dungeons and it's intense co-op action. We still might not see Grounded for a while yet (at least outside of Early Access), but there's still a lot to talk about right now.

Microscopic survival

Grounded

See at Microsoft

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

Obsidian Entertainment makes their 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, forced to survive in a dangerous backyard.

Who is developing Grounded?

Grounded is being developed by Obsidian Entertainment, one of the newer additions to the growing Xbox Game Studios family. This infamous studio is responsible for one of the best post-apocalyptic RPG's in Fallout: New Vegas, and many other incredible games. Recently, they made waves with Outer Worlds, a sci-fi take on all the best parts of Fallout and other similar RPGs, which also debuted on Xbox Game Pass day one.

Their next project is a side project by a passionate group of only 13 developers, who are all working very hard on an all-new franchise that takes the premise of the classic movie "Honey, I Shrunk the Kids" and imagines it as a difficult survival title. The game will also be developed alongside an Early Access program for Xbox One and PC so that the developers behind it can gather feedback and make changes before the game officially releases sometime in 2021.

Grounded was announced at XO19, where Microsoft surprised everyone with a strong lineup of upcoming games for their platforms. The announcement came alongside an official reveal trailer, which showcased some of the game's survival-based gameplay. If you're interested, you can also check out the blog post announcement from Obsidian Entertainment's website to get the full feeling of Grounded's first day in the public eye.

What is the story and setting in Grounded?

The premise of Grounded is that you (the player) have been shrunk down to the size of an ant in a suburban backyard. That means that things such as child toys, flowers, and plant roots are massive obstacles instead of insignificant objects. Creatures that regularly-sized humans wouldn't think much about, such as ants, cockroaches, and bees, are now an enormous threat to your livelihood, and thus, you'll have to figure out a way to survive their attacks. Grounded is set in the 1990s, which influences the design and feel of much of this incredibly detailed world.

As far as a narrative is concerned, there is almost certainly a storyline to the game, but we don't know a ton about it. All we know is that the players have been shrunk by some kind of complicated machine that is no longer functional, and are being aided by a robot that is involved in some way. Using a variety of skills and instincts, players will need to, well, survive, surrounded by threats of all shapes and sizes. There will be mysterious structures and locations scattered across the map that allude to a greater story.

Someone (or an organization) conspired to shrink you down, and now you have to get to the bottom of why and how this was done to discover the method to return to your normal size. Apparently, the Early Access for the game will include the initial 20% of Grounded's storyline, but after that, we'll have to wait for the full release of the game. Basically, the story for Grounded can be summed up by one sizzler sentence in the official story trailer: Go big, or never go home.

What is the gameplay and content in Grounded?

Based on what we know so far, Grounded is a reasonably traditional survival game that sees players scavenging resources and supplies to craft weapons and armor, foraging for food and water, constructing shelters and secure bases, and navigating the game's mysterious campaign. To get the resources they need to survive and thrive, players will need to traverse obstacles such as thick patches of tall grass and the towering stalks of flowering plants, as well as venture deep into crevices and caves created by hostile insects.

Grounded can be played in either first-person or third-person (depending on your preference for survival games), and this camera perspective can be swapped between instantly. You can also choose to jump in on your own in solo play or join up with up to three friends in co-op. However you decide to play, the goal is to survive by steadily searching for better resources to upgrade your gear, fortify your home, and defend against the many threats that see you as another part of the food chain.

The game also has a full ecosystem that continues to run even while you aren't around. For example, if you kill a particular kind of insect in one area, that insect's predators will go elsewhere to look for food. In another example, ants are non-aggressive, merely taking food they find. However, if you continue to kill their scouts, the colony will send soldier ants after you. Wolf spiders hunt at night, burrowing during the day. All these factors and more make the world in which you live feel more real and dynamic.

This means there are many kinds of insects, with possibly more added in the future, and distinct "biomes" to explore as well with unique landscapes and ecosystems. Obsidian Entertainment also wants to include dynamic weather at some point as well, so the world can truly feel like it moves and breathes on its own. The development team wants to continuously improve and add to the game until its eventual release in 2021.

How can I play the Early Access or Game Preview for Grounded?

Since Grounded is being developed by a relatively tiny team, Obsidian Entertainment wants to elicit feedback from players to help the game grow into something amazing. To help this along, Grounded will be launching into an Early Access program on Xbox One and Windows, letting prospective fans share their thoughts on the game before it's completely finished. This Early Access program will be on Steam for PC, as well as the Xbox Game Preview program for the Microsoft Store on PC and Xbox One.

According to Grounded's Steam page, the Early Access program will include the following game features:

Roughly 20% of the full storyline
3 major biomes—the grasslands, the hedge, and the haze
Crafting
Base building
Single-player and online co-op play
First two tiers of weapons and armor
At least ten insects
Arachnophobia mode

To join the Early Access program on Steam, you'll have to wait until it drops on July 28, 2020 for pricing information and further availability details. For those on Xbox One or playing through the Microsoft Store, all you have to do is be a part of Xbox Game Pass. That's right, even the Game Preview of Grounded will be launching day one into Game Pass, so you can jump right into the game the moment it's available to test. For those not on Game Pass, you'll also have to wait for more pricing information.

The Early Access or Game Preview should continue until the game fully releases, giving players plenty of time to watch the game grow (and plenty of time to figure out how to make your character grow). Once the game is officially released, players will be able to unlock all the content the game has to offer and hopefully play Grounded for years to come.

What Xbox gaming features will be supported in Grounded?

After Minecraft Dungeons confused players about its lack of Xbox Play Anywhere support and its initial lack of cross-play between platforms, it's understandable if you're concerned about Grounded making the same mistakes. It doesn't appear that this will be the case, as the official landing page for Grounded on the Microsoft Store confirms that Grounded supports:

Xbox Play Anywhere. Buy the game once, and own it on both Xbox One and Windows.
Xbox Live online co-op. Play with your friends over Xbox Live.
Cross-platform co-op. You can also play with friends who are playing on either Xbox One or Windows.
Xbox One X enhanced. The game will have additional visual enhancements for the Xbox One X, but the exact details are unclear right now.
Xbox cloud saves. No matter how many devices you game on, your save files will sync over the cloud.

Obsidian Entertainment is doing a fantastic job of supporting all of Microsoft's gamer-friendly features right out the gate, which is incredible to see. While Minecraft Dungeons is an excellent game in and of itself, its lack of this support was strange, and hurts the game's overall appeal for players who want to play with friends on other platforms, or have multiple devices. Grounded will not make the same mistakes, it seems.

A big survival game at a small scale

Survival is a massive genre in video games, and there are a ton of people that adore pouring hours into these adventures. Taking the traditional survival formula we all know and love and looking at it from a much smaller perspective is brilliant, and I'm ecstatic to see what Grounded becomes over the following months. Obsidian Entertainment has a big reputation to uphold, but I think its smallest game might be just up to the task.

Are you excited to get your hands on this unique survival experience from Microsoft? What do you think about the premise of the game? Let us know in the comments below!

Microscopic survival

Grounded

See at Microsoft See at Steam

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

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System Admin Stuff

Wednesday 15 July 2020