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Buggy mounts helped shape Grounded 2 from the ground up. In a July 2025 interview, executive producer Marcus Morgan said the decision to build around mounts influenced the sequel’s world layout, combat, exploration, carrying and building—not just how quickly players travel. He also described how feedback on the first game informed the sequel’s story and combat priorities, and why Obsidian partnered with Eidos Montréal.
Why Buggies shaped the sequel’s design
Morgan called Buggies “one of the main geneses for why we needed to go make Grounded 2.” Rather than add mounts to an existing map, the team made a new area that could support mounted play. That decision affected how far apart points of interest could be, how biomes fit together, and how spaces such as ant-hill interiors needed to work.
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The mounts also change what players can do once they arrive. Morgan said players can fight on or off a Buggy, while the red soldier ant Buggy can cut grass and carry items. Those abilities connect mounts to the survival loop, building and resource gathering as well as traversal. MobileSyrup’s interview with Morgan provides the design context.
Solo play and co-op
Morgan said a Buggy can give a solo player a companion and make the experience feel less isolating. In four-player co-op, several players using mounts can make encounters more chaotic. He described these as different social dynamics, not as a claim that one mode is more effective or better balanced.
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What Grounded players asked for
Morgan identified Buggies as the most-requested feature from the first game. He also said players wanted more story from day one and deeper combat. In response, Grounded 2 has a more developed Act 1, while its “combat 2.0” includes blocks for some creatures, enemy feints and a player dodge.
Those changes address different expectations: the more developed opening gives the story more room early on, while the combat additions build more interaction into fights. Morgan’s account connects them to player requests; it does not promise a particular experience for every player.
Why Obsidian worked with Eidos Montréal
Morgan said Obsidian needed outside development support to make the sequel. He pointed to Eidos Montréal’s action-RPG experience and world-building, as well as the fact that some members of its team already liked and played Grounded. He framed the collaboration as a shared effort: “We think about ourselves as the ‘Grounded team,’ not the ‘Eidos team’ or the ‘Obsidian team.’”
He also described how tools and lessons can move between Obsidian projects. As one example, Morgan said the photo-mode technology from Grounded served as the baseline for Avowed’s photo mode. He cited Obsidian’s centralized tools group and shared tools across Xbox Game Studios as ways teams can reuse technology and iterate.
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Updates, onboarding and difficulty
How the team approached updates
Morgan said the team had tried monthly updates and a cadence of updates every two months. At the time of the July 2025 interview, he favored giving larger releases more time so the team could build substantial content and process feedback from the previous update, while continuing smaller patches. That is a description of his approach at that time, not confirmation of the game’s current update schedule.
Getting new players into the story
Morgan said the team worked on the tutorial and an introductory cinematic to explain the world and characters to newcomers. He described the story as taking place in 1992. Players who want to focus on story and exploration can choose “Mild,” which he identified as the easiest difficulty.
Where to play Grounded 2
As of Obsidian’s August 11, 2026 update, Grounded 2 was available in Xbox Game Preview for Xbox Series X|S and Xbox on PC, and in Early Access on Steam and PlayStation 5. Obsidian listed Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass as subscription options, alongside purchasing through the player’s platform. The Xbox listing identifies July 29, 2025 as the Game Preview date. Check the current regional store listing and subscription catalog for availability where you live.
| Platform or access route | Access type stated by the official sources |
|---|---|
| Xbox Series X|S | Game Preview |
| Xbox on PC | Game Preview |
| Steam | Early Access |
| PlayStation 5 | Early Access |
| Game Pass Ultimate or PC Game Pass | Subscription access listed by Obsidian; check the current catalog and regional availability |
| Platform storefront | Purchase option listed by Obsidian |
Obsidian’s August 11, 2026 update announcement describes the latest access status cited here; the Xbox listing gives the Game Preview date. Access, catalog inclusion and store terms can vary by region and change over time.
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