Obsidian Entertainment’s Grounded 2 was announced only last month, during the June 2025’s Xbox Games Showcase, and we’re already getting the Early Access launch. When? Where? How? Read on, and we’ll say a little about the “what” as well.
When – Grounded 2 release times
To get the most important bit out first: the Early Access release date is… today! At least as long as you read it on July 29th. If you don’t, the game’s already out in EA and ready to play.
- Auckland: July 30, 5:00 AM NZST
- Sydney: July 30, 3:00 AEST
- Tokyo: July 30, 2:00 JST
- Seoul: July 30, 2:00 AM KST
- Berlin/Paris: Jule 29, 7:00 PM CEST
- London: July 29, 6:00 PM BST
- São Paulo: July 29, 2:00 PM BRT
- New York/Montreal: July 29, 1:00 PM EDT
- Mexico City: July 29, 11:00 AM CST
- Seattle: July 29, 10:00 PDT
If you’d rather see a more detailed launch schedule, we’re happy to deliver, East to West, straight from the official infographic
https://twitter.com/Xbox/status/1948428536668135935
Where and how
You can play Grounded 2 on Steam and the Xbox ecosystem. Grounded 2 will also have a Xbox Game Pass release, both regular and Ultimate.
What
So what’s in Grounded 2?
A much larger world, for starters. While the first game was limited (a deceptive term, the map was pretty big) to a backyard, while the sequel upgrades the play area to a public park, somewhat neglected and overgrown. This means more play space, and a good reason to introduce mounts to the game. Yes, indeed, you’ll be able to ride bugs for fun, function, and combat. More parts of the park are sure to be revealed as the early access plans involve a big update every couple months, rather than a frequent chain of smaller ones.
Of course, the EA release at the start won’t have access to the entire park right away, but it’s should be more than enough for the time being. The game’s intended full play area is said to be several times larger than the first game’s.
Grounded 2 also does away with tool juggling, instead bringing in an omni-tool to handle the workload you needed an axe, a hammer, a shovel, and a wrench for. That a QoL win for the crafting game’s fans.
Finally, in terms why there even is a sequel in the first place, what’s the story?
Grounded 2 takes place two years after the events of the first game concluded, and it’s the same group of teens again, a bit older and a lot better-equipped to deal with this new case of being unwillingly made tiny. Why are they small again?
It will be revealed over the course of the game, of course, but the inciting incident is a mysterious explosion which interrupts the unveiling of a statue dedicated to these kids. Might it be the Ominent corporation being salty about the events of the first game? Most likely, yeah, of course.
There might also be some clues as the mysterious fifth kid, but there isn’t a lot to go on at this point.
Well, get ready to be tiny!
That about covers what you need to know about Grounded 2’s release and premise. All that’s left is getting your Game Pass sub refreshed or a Steam pre-order sorted out, and we might be able to help with at least one of those!