Obsidian’s Xbox survival game Grounded 2 gets a December update bringing cheerful holiday decorations

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I’m excited to share that a new update for Grounded 2 is now available! This release focuses on some important technical improvements and adds a few new features. We’re rolling these out now as a precursor to our bigger Winter Update, which is still in development.

This update, announced by the developers on Wednesday, introduces the Coziness System. Players can now unlock benefits by building more comfortable and inviting bases, complete with features like fireplaces and chimneys.

Along with the new Coziness System, we’re also adding festive decorations like lights, signs, and a holiday tree.

The PEEPR system has been upgraded to the PEEP.R 2K, offering improved functionality. You can now use it from both first- and third-person perspectives, and its new zoom feature makes it simpler and more effective for tasks like scouting and resource tracking.

As a researcher on the Grounded 2 project, I’m happy to share that we’ve significantly improved performance. We’ve updated to Unreal Engine 5.6.1, and our testing suggests players should see a noticeable boost in frame rates. We’re confident this update will make the game run much smoother for everyone.

PC gamers using Windows can now use NVIDIA DLSS and AMD FSR to improve performance. These technologies let you choose between better graphics and faster framerates, depending on your preference.

Load the full changelog ↴

Major Bug Fixes

Improved Performance on Extremely Large Saves
Droplets of Water should now no longer appear floating invisible mid-air
Fixed a issue where clients could be attacked while loading into their game
Buggies no longer stay in your face, so when trying to build or harvest, players should be less disrupted by a buggy coming over and stealing the interaction priority
Various Omni-Tool improvements based on community feedback have been addressed
- Looking at any item that the omni-tool can interact with will remain the priority over a building that’s in the vicinity of player’s cursor, guaranteeing that the actions prompted in the HUD remains in line with the other priority rules:
  - Interaction actions are based on how close you are to something
  - Interaction actions are based on if you look at that interactable
Various Handheld bugs were fixed

Gameplay

Teen’s left hand now closes properly when crouching with dual-wielded weapons equipped
Photo Mode can no longer be exploited to kill jumping creatures
Fixed a bug where a character could get stuck in a spiderweb in the Fire Pit area
Players should no longer get stuck in the corridor leading to the Axl arena
Fixed a spot in the Ice Cart area where player could get stuck
Players should no longer get stuck in a specific place in the trashcan
Recover Backpacks should now work properly be recovered when they were falling Out of the World
Fixed a bug where AXL Wall Mount did not guarantee a temporary effect for Players activating it on the edge of its range
Fixed an issue where player could not repair Ice Sickles after a failed defense attempt
Unequipping Axl Talon will no longer cause the character model to stretch in photomode
Resolved an issue where killing one enemy would complete objective to defeat O.R.C. guards at Stone Stash
Addressed an issue where Player could swap arrows while ranged weapon is charging
Fixed a bug where some parts of the Universal Galvanic radio had collision issues
Resolved an issue where Players were able to complete “Ready, Aim…” ranger challenge by shooting the Berries
Fixed an issue where Pinch Whacker had same speed stat as Red Ant Club but attacked way faster
Scorpion set bonus effect now properly triggers
Fixed a bug where it was not possible to move items with the LMB
Addressed an issue where it was possible to enter inaccessible places through the hedge
Players can now walk onto the Juice Box from the Web Bridge
Fixed a bug where looting creatures was problematic near nearby resources
Items left in Statue Lab now longer fall Out of the World
Fixed an issue with visible Out of the World from the window
Players should no longer get temporarily stuck between Picnic Table’s wooden planks
Fixed the issue where fighting a Mosquito would prompt nearby Blue Butterflies to aggro
Milkweed related resources should properly appear in the resource scanner map
Fixed a bug where multiple Husky Weeds were growing in one place
Saps should no longer blocking movement
Spicy Candy located on top of the Trashcan is now reachable
Fixed an issue where Scorpions spawned after Ice Sickles quest could not do damage to Player after jumping to a certain spot
Buggies will now properly drop a backpack on Woah! difficulty
Fixed an issue where a gap inside hedge led to an unfinished area
Resolved an issue where the Player could get stuck between two specific bushes
The Fluffy Dandelion Tuft will no longer drain stamina
Fixed a bug where Player’s backpack could become inaccessible underneath flashcard
Resolved a bug where Resource Finder did not update locations of resources taken from chests
Gnats have returned to the pond in front of the starting area
Fixed a bug where Omni-Tool UI would disappear when hovering over more than one OmniToolable object
Addressed an issue where stacking palisades on top of each other was not possible
Blocking animation for Staves was too slow, it is now faster
Fixed an issue where recycling Hatchery with ready-to-hatch buggy would result in obtaining unusable egg
Fixed a bug where Praying Mantis wouldn’t leave its leaf if the Player engages first
Resolved a bug where Praying Mantis doesn’t engage when the Player walks under its leaf
Fixed a bug where Praying Mantis in Entrance area quickly loses aggro when Player hides behind a nearby coin
Addressed a bug where multiple Husky Weeds were growing in one place
Fixed a bug where particular raw science was placed behind invisible wall
Resolved a bug where looting creatures was problematic near nearby resources
Fixed a bug where creatures would not attack walls blocking MIX.R
Aphids will no longer climb onto cut grass
Fixed a bug where multiple Husky Weeds were growing in one place
Resolved a bug where dropped resources would despawn after moving away from them
Fixed an issue where Blue Butterflies had too wide hitboxes on their wings
Players should now properly interrupt Mantis’s light attacks
Baits should now get consumed by a creature when used
Fixed an issue where water droplets were visibly floating in air after chopping grass
Resolved a bug where the third person camera would become unstable while moving between the player and a big asset
Players can no longer jump while sitting in any chair

Environment Art

Fixed an issue where certain water textures were clipping through the ground
Fixed a bug where particular raw science was placed behind invisible wall
A window in the starting location no longer clips through the wall
Fixed an issue where Image Plane on Sign Frames would not render correctly
Addressed an issue where black spots appeared on some stones
Fixed one-sided textures in the Fire Pit area
Planks on the park now have the correct textures and are no longer pink
Fixed collision of a rock near the Fire Pit
Summoned Buggies should no longer spawn in textures
Fixed various texture artifacts
Fixed the issue where acorn was missing a chunk of its top part texture
Resolved a lighting issue with the nasty water puddle in front of the Toxic Anthill South Entrance
Fixed a bug where Ranger Outpost entrance light signs had different color than the light they emit
Lighting has been improved in the Lab dome
Resolved a bug where Husky Weed was clipping into the statue
Fixed floating grass blades near the KLB11 News Camera
Fixed an issue with Buried Treasure clipping with a Waffle Cone
Addressed an issue where Billy Hog on the top of the Fire Pit was clipping through a plate

Performance & Stability

Performance has been improved for large world saves.
The Saved Games list now loads promptly, removing the prolonged “Processing” prompt
Fixed a bug where game was running in low FPS after loading autosave created upon starting an ORC Wave

UI & UX

Resolved an issue where the bindings for assigning an item to the HotPouch were different
Fixed a bug where the survival guide specified that the ‘H’ key should be pressed instead of held to open the emotes radial
The health bar will now properly display for some buildings in the Building Grid
The switch view button in the pause menu responds to mouse clicks as intended.
Storage UI backgrounds in containers are free of graphical artifacts
Fixed a bug where Chopping List could exceed Player’s screen and could not be scrolled
Resolved an issue with placeholder option change notification
Changes in Game Settings will automatically save upon exiting menu
Fixed a bug where the game language did not change immediately after being set
Object placement by clients is now possible, even at a distance from the character.
Fixed an issue where a ghost item appeared in inventory when assigning it to HotPouch with keyboard
Fixed a bug where Player was unable to scroll “Wait, there’s more!” quest

Audio

Fixed an issue where mushroom destroy sound was delayed
Addressed a bug where staff projectile sound was audible with sound settings set to 0
Fixed an issue where there were no sounds when hitting Ranger Station while playing as a Client
Resolved an issue where web bridges didn’t have impact SFX assigned
Fixed concurrency set on all teens voice over

Save/Load & Persistence

Fixed a bug where Player could stack chill resistance with torch equipped while performing save/load cycle
Fixed an issue where fog of war was reappearing for Clients after Save/Load cycle
Addressed a bug where the Client could damage a snail through the shell if far from the Host
Fixed a bug where Client sometimes was unable to pick up weapons thrown by the Host
Fixed an issue where chill reduction would permanently increase for each save/load with torch equipped
Fixed a bug where game was running in low FPS after loading autosave created upon starting an ORC Wave
Resolved a bug where Player was able to Pause Menu for a brief moment after loading the game
Teens’ bodies now disappear upon leaving the session
Fixed a bug where entering the Acorn Turret right after loading the game would cause the player character to fall through the textures

Localization

Various localization bugs have been addressed

A great early access game gets better

Grounded 2 is off to a fantastic start, and it’s great to see Obsidian Entertainment consistently updating the game. They recently added a challenging boss battle against a tarantula named AXL, and the game quickly reached over three million players just weeks after its early access release in July.

Grounded 2 is now playable on Xbox Series X|S and Windows PC, through both Steam and the Xbox app. It’s also included with an Xbox Game Pass Ultimate or PC Game Pass subscription.

2025-12-04 15:12

Obsidian’s Xbox survival game Grounded 2 gets a December update bringing cheerful holiday decorations — and PC gets DLSS, too