Obsidian Explains Grounded 2 Due to Space Limits

In the sequel Grounded 2, players experience life as teenagers shrunk to insect size inside a massive backyard—with an exciting new addition: the ability to mount and ride bugs like horses. This highly requested community feature is something Obsidian has been eager to deliver.

This expanded gameplay is a primary reason for creating Grounded 2. The original Grounded simply couldn’t support creature mounts or substantial new content by the time development ended. Obsidian aimed to grow its tiny-scale adventure into something far larger, a goal made possible by upgrading to Unreal Engine 5.

Executive producer Marcus Morgan explains why Obsidian pursued a sequel instead of continuing updates for Grounded 1: “There are several reasons, but I’ll highlight a few. First, we began the original on Xbox One and were hitting technical limits. Adding more content would have forced a redesign that broke the immersive, seamless world we built.”

Morgan notes that the team wrapped up Grounded 1’s narrative with a full story arc and wanted to tell a fresh, complete tale in the sequel. Finally, the introduction of bug mounts, or "Buggies," was a driving factor.

“We prototyped mounts in Grounded 1, but the environments weren’t designed for that style of movement. Faster traversal affects spacing between landmarks, handling of open areas, interior spaces, and environmental threats. We needed an entirely new world to support these features, which is why the sequel is so much bigger.”

We launched Grounded 1 on the original Xbox One, and we were reaching the system’s capacity for adding content.

Eidos Montreal, known for Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy, is co-developing Grounded 2 with Obsidian. Morgan describes the collaboration as incredibly smooth and a true partnership. After requesting assistance from Xbox, the second-party team connected them with Eidos, where many developers were avid Grounded fans. In fact, Eidos helped shape the sequel’s story and antagonists, earning Obsidian’s trust as co-developers.

Grounded 2 is scheduled for early access on Xbox and PC—there are no current plans for PlayStation, Nintendo Switch, or Switch 2, though the first game eventually launched on multiple platforms. That doesn’t rule out future console releases.

“I’m thrilled that Grounded 1 reached so many platforms,” Morgan says. “Our philosophy is ‘ride together, survive together’—we want friends to play together regardless of platform. Our goal remains broad accessibility; we’ll start with early access and see where it leads.”

While Morgan can’t confirm long-term plans, he expects Grounded 2 to follow a path similar to the first game: a multi-year early access phase, leading to a full release. The team avoids rigid timelines, focusing instead on community feedback and iterative development.

“Grounded 2 is structured to be far more expandable than its predecessor,” he explains. “Whether we limit future content depends on player response and technical capacity. We’ll work closely with our community to evolve the game.”