Grounded is a 2022 survival game created by Obsidian Entertainment and published by Xbox Game Studios for Windows, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S. It became available on Windows and Xbox One in early access on July 28, 2020, and was fully released on September 27, 2022. The Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and PlayStation 5 versions came out on April 16, 2024.

A small group of 13 Obsidian employees started working on Grounded after finishing Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire. Meanwhile, the rest of the team worked on The Outer Worlds. In the game, four main characters are shrunk in size after a science experiment and must survive in a backyard by fighting different bugs and insects. The game’s main idea was based on the movies Honey, I Shrunk the Kids and A Bug’s Life. Critics gave the game mostly positive reviews, and it had more than 20 million players when it launched. A sequel called Grounded 2 was released in early access on July 29, 2025, and an animated series adaptation is being made.

Gameplay

Grounded is a survival game that can be played from the perspective of the player (first-person) or from an outside view (third-person). In the game, the main character is made very small, like an ant, and must try to survive in a backyard. The player controls one of four characters: Max, Willow, Pete, or Hoops. To stay healthy, the character must eat enough food and drink enough water. If they do not, they will lose health from starvation or dehydration. The backyard is filled with many types of insects, including spiders, bees, dust mites, ladybugs, and others. Each insect has a different role in the game. For example, spiders are top predators that hunt players, ladybugs can guide players to food, and aphids can be cooked and eaten. Players can also cut grass to collect dewdrops. The game includes an option for players who are afraid of spiders, allowing them to adjust how scary spiders appear.

Throughout the game, players must find resources to build a base to protect themselves from dangerous enemies, especially at night when some insects become more aggressive. These resources can also be used to create tools, traps, and weapons, such as axes, spears, and bows and arrows, to fight enemies. Players must manage their stamina, as the character can become tired during long battles. The game can be played alone or with up to four players working together.

Synopsis

In 1990, four teenagers named Peter "Pete" Boggs (Max Mittelman), Maxwell "Max" Smalls (Luke Youngblood), Willow Branch (Ozioma Akagha), and Ally "Hoops" Nguyen (Charlet Chung) become the latest group in a series of disappearances. When they wake up, they find themselves shrunk to the size of an insect and trapped in a backyard. They have no memory of how they were shrunk or how they arrived there.

As the teens explore the yard, they discover recordings left by Dr. Wendell Tully (Zachary Levi), a scientist who invented the SPAC.R, a device that can shrink objects and people. The teens realize they are in Tully's backyard and find the SPAC.R. However, the device malfunctions, causing an explosion in a nearby oak tree. The teens investigate the explosion and discover a miniature lab inside the tree. Inside, they meet BURG.L (Josh Brener), Tully's robotic assistant. The explosion damaged BURG.L's memory, so it cannot help repair the SPAC.R until the teens recover its memory backup chips stored in Tully's labs across the backyard. BURG.L provides the teens with blueprints and survival tips to help them navigate the wilderness and avoid dangerous insects.

As the teens search for the memory chips, they also begin to remember that they were kidnapped and experimented on by a company called Ominent. After the experiments, the project leader, Director Dalton Schmector (Roger Craig Smith), ordered the teens to be discarded. However, one scientist secretly moved them to Tully's backyard because only Tully could help them. BURG.L explains that using the SPAC.R can cause a condition called Raisining Syndrome, where a person shrinks uncontrollably and eventually becomes like a raisin. Ominent tested children because they seemed immune to Raisining Syndrome and found a cure. However, Ominent has not yet replicated Tully's secret Embiggening Formula, which is needed to reverse shrinking.

BURG.L directs the teens to Tully's last known location. There, they find a recording explaining that Tully began suffering from Raisining Syndrome and retreated to an underground lab to find a cure. The teens enter the lab and find Tully barely alive, supported by a life support pod. Tully explains that Schmector used to be his supervisor but left the company to work on the SPAC.R. Tully warns the teens that if they start mixing the Embiggening Formula, Ominent will send mind-controlled insects to attack them. The teens must choose between mixing the formula or confronting Schmector's surveillance robot first. If they defeat the robot, they will recover a disk containing Ominent's research data, including a cure for Raisining Syndrome.

The teens mix the Embiggening Formula and reactivate the SPAC.R to return to normal size. The story's ending depends on whether they confronted Schmector.

• If the teens did not confront Schmector, they have no proof of Ominent's wrongdoing. Schmector reveals the SPAC.R to the public and claims credit for its invention. The teens face accusations of faking their disappearances, while Tully reunites with his family but remains in his shriveled form.
• If the teens confronted Schmector and recovered the research data, they turn it over to authorities. Ominent and Schmector are investigated for illegal human experiments. The teens are celebrated as heroes, Tully is cured of Raisining Syndrome, and he is recognized for inventing the SPAC.R.

Development

After the release of Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire, the team at Obsidian Entertainment started thinking about ideas for a survival game. While most employees at Obsidian worked on The Outer Worlds, a small group of 13 people began making a game called Grounded. The game was already being created before Microsoft bought Obsidian in 2018. In November 2019, Xbox Game Studios announced Grounded at an event called X019. The game was released on July 28, 2020, for Steam's early access and Xbox Game Preview. The early access version included about 20% of the game's main story. Obsidian listened to player feedback and used it to improve the game until its full release in 2022. Within 6 months of its early access launch, the game had about 5 million players. The full version of the game was released for Windows, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S on September 27, 2022. Versions for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and PlayStation 5 were released on April 16, 2024.

The team was inspired by movies like Disney's A Bug's Life and Honey, I Shrunk the Kids. They watched long videos on YouTube made by people who study insects to learn more about them. The team chose a backyard as the game's setting because they believed it would be familiar and easy for players to understand. They also thought a backyard could make the world feel bigger and more dangerous. The game's director, Adam Brennecke, compared the setting to a "theme park" because the team added many landmarks to make the world more interesting.

The team wanted to create a game world where players' choices could change how the world worked. Brennecke said the game would have a story that players would remember, like other games made by Obsidian. The team spent a lot of time designing the artificial intelligence of insects, which controls how they act. For example, ants are curious about the player and do not attack them at first. However, if the player builds a base near their food or becomes stronger, the ants may see the player as a threat and attack them.

Future

In June 2025, a sequel called Grounded 2 was officially announced, and a game preview was released on July 29, 2025. In July 2022, it was announced that an animated series based on the game is being developed, with Brent Friedman working on the series.

Reception

The game Grounded received mostly positive reviews, according to the review aggregator website Metacritic. Another review aggregator, OpenCritic, reported that the game was highly praised, with 84% of critics recommending it.

It was nominated for an award for Innovation in Accessibility at The Game Awards 2020. The game also won the Xbox Game of the Year award at the Golden Joystick Awards. Additionally, it was nominated for Action Game of the Year at the 26th Annual D.I.C.E. Awards.

By February 10, 2022, the game had attracted 10 million players, partly due to Xbox Game Pass. As of December 2022, the game had attracted more than 15 million players.