Record start for Grounded 2: The survival game thrills tens of thousands and reveals a packed roadmap for the future.
With the launch of Grounded 2, developer Obsidian Entertainment has achieved an impressive success that is likely to have exceeded many people’s expectations.
The sequel to the popular survival adventure, in which players are shrunk to the size of insects and fight for survival in a garden, significantly surpasses its predecessor in terms of Steam player numbers. And Grounded 2 isn’t even out of Early Access yet!
Obsidian is well aware of this and has already presented an extensive Grounded 2 roadmap for the next twelve months – at least!
From 0 to 50,000
At its peak, 49,836 people were playing Grounded 2 on Steam at the same time on July 29, 2025. The peak for the first Grounded was 32,012 simultaneous players, a clear increase of 55 percent.
In addition to the Steam figures, there are also all those players who use the title via Microsoft’s Game Pass. Subscribers pay nothing extra for the game.
Its predecessor, Grounded, had reached over 20 million players by February 2024 (exact sales figures are not known); Grounded 2 is likely to be even more successful after this strong start. We were also impressed by the game in the early access test:
Meanwhile, there is still room for improvement in the Steam reviews. Of the nearly 2,000 votes cast so far, 75 percent were positive at the time of writing. Grounded 2 is therefore “mostly positive,” but there is criticism of performance, too few graphics settings, and lag. There are also isolated reports of corrupted save files.
Developer Obsidian must address these issues as quickly as possible with patches. But new content is also set to be added during the early access phase.
A jam-packed roadmap
Obsidian’s roadmap shows where Grounded 2 is headed in the coming months. The developers do not want to commit to a definitive time frame for the early access phase, but their plans currently extend until summer 2026. The roadmap includes new features, bug fixes, creatures, progression elements, and building options, as well as a few secret innovations.
The first major update, the Fall Update, focuses on AXL, a mysterious boss rumored to be a tarantula. In addition to its arena, corresponding armor, weapons, and furniture will also be added. Convenience features such as a building grid display are also included.
The Winter Update brings further technical optimizations and new gameplay elements. Steam Deck verification and cross-play with Microsoft accounts, as well as the integration of ROG Ally, are being addressed here. “Sour 2.0,” “PlayGrounds,” and “PEEPR 2.0” updates hint at deeper mechanics or reworks of existing systems.
New insects such as grasshoppers and earwigs, as well as new variants of existing creatures, expand the garden’s fauna. New mounts are also set to be added, such as the ladybug. In terms of progression, players can look forward to new level 3 Omni-Tool unlocks.
New defenses and a “Mushroom Set 2.0” with new furniture are planned for base building. The Summer Update promises fresh content centered around the element of water.
Players can look forward to Smoothies 2.0, Swimming 2.0, and Ziplines, which hint at new ways to get around and a revamp of existing systems. There will be new water creatures and corresponding equipment. The Omni-Tool will be upgraded to level 4.
In addition, the roadmap provides an overview of future plans that are not yet tied to specific updates. These include more new mutations, adjustments to the buggy mounts, and upgrades for them.
New creatures, boss enemies, and colossi promise further challenges. New weapons, Omni Tool unlocks, and new archetypes are also in the works. For base building, new building materials, additional customization options, and the ability to move your base are expected.