Grounded's full release will be the game's "biggest update ever"

Grounded bee
(Image credit: Obsidian)

Grounded's 1.0 launch will release on September 27 and usher in the game's "biggest update ever".

Whilst we found out that the game would be moving into a full release during E3 2022, it's only now that we have a firm date on when the game will finally move out of its test phase.

According to a tweet shared by developer Obsidian to mark the game's second anniversary, the team is busy adding "the final touches", and has a load of new "surprises and mysteries" for us.

Interestingly, in a brief video embedded with the tweet, game director Adam Brennecke also confirmed that there'll be more "surprises and mysteries" including all the information we need to know about "why you're in the backyard" in the first place and "how you'll get out of this mess" (thanks, NME).

Grounded's 1.0 launch will add several major updates to the core game, including a new "upper yard" area of the playable map, new armor recipes, new weapon recipes, and the giant Mantis boss. It will also feature the conclusion to the story, revealing what happened to shrink the kids down to bug size.

Grounded is available via PC and Xbox Game Pass right now, and will continue to be available through those services after launch. You can also purchase it as a standalone release on Xbox Series X and S, Xbox One, and PC via the Windows Store and Steam.

Developer Obsidian also recently revealed that the game has had over 10 million players so far, which is probably why an animated Grounded TV show is already in the works from Star Wars: Clone Wars writer Brent Friedman.

The Grounded TV adaptation will take place in the same terrifying world as the Xbox backyard survival game and follows a group of teens who have to survive after being shrunken to the size of ants. Just like the game, they'll be tasked with surviving against now-enormous predators like ants and other common backyard inhabitants, as well as untangling a corporate conspiracy that threatens the safety of their whole town.

Here are our picks of the best Xbox Game Pass games.

Vikki Blake
Weekend Reporter, GamesRadar+

Vikki Blake is GamesRadar+'s Weekend Reporter. Vikki works tirelessly to ensure that you have something to read on the days of the week beginning with 'S', and can also be found contributing to outlets including the BBC, Eurogamer, and GameIndustry.biz. Vikki also runs a weekly games column at NME, and can be frequently found talking about Destiny 2 and Silent Hill on Twitter.