Game Preview / Early Access began 29 July 2025
This was the original playable launch, not the 1.0 date.
Grounded 2 / Release & 1.0
Grounded 2 full release dateWhat we know about version 1.0
Grounded 2 does not have an announced 1.0 release date or year. It remains in Early Access / Game Preview. Game director Chris Parker has described two essential 1.0 goals — completing the story and completing the intended park — while Steam says the full version will also include content held back from Early Access. [1][2][3]
Early Access / Game Preview1.0 date: unannouncedComplete story planned for 1.0
Game-state snapshot: . Search and first-party release-status evidence rechecked .
Explore Grounded 2
Explore the rest of Grounded 2
This page focuses on full release and 1.0. Use the neighbouring guides for the live game, the immediate next update, the wider roadmap and the development timeline.
01 / Quick answer
Grounded 2 is playable now, but it has not reached 1.0
“Release date” is unusually ambiguous for Grounded 2: Xbox/PC Game Preview and Early Access began in 2025, while PS5 Early Access followed in 2026. The unresolved question is the full version 1.0 release.
No official date, month, quarter or year has been announced for Grounded 2 version 1.0.
The current roadmap shows Fall, Winter and undated Future Plans, but it does not place 1.0 on a dated milestone. Obsidian’s current site still labels the game Early Access / Game Preview. [4][5]
Patch 0.5.1 is another live Early Access maintenance/progression release. It does not establish a 1.0 date, year or release window, and it does not replace the official Fall 2026 update as the next confirmed major content gate. [18]
Early Access began 11 August 2026
Obsidian explicitly says development continues through the Early Access period. [6]
No date or year has been announced
Roadmap sequencing, version numbers and the first Grounded’s timeline do not establish a Grounded 2 release window.
02 / What 1.0 means
Obsidian has defined the destination more clearly than the date
Game director Chris Parker has described two essential pillars for version 1.0: finish the intended story and finish the intended park. Steam adds that the full version will also contain content held back from Early Access.
1
03 / What remains before full release
The known requirements are broad; the remaining checklist is not public
The evidence establishes broad completion criteria and a visible development pipeline, but not a percentage-complete figure or a public final checklist.
| Area | What is established | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Story | The live story is incomplete. 1.0 is planned to deliver the complete story; Parker describes Acts 1–3 plus endgame. | Required direction |
| Park | Parker says the intended park needs to be completed across land and underwater spaces. The current roadmap still includes additional areas. | Required direction |
| Roadmap content | Fall, Winter and Future Plans still contain substantial future work, but Obsidian has not identified which roadmap items, if any, are prerequisites for 1.0. | Relationship to 1.0 not defined |
| Polish & stability | Performance, stability and balance are still being iterated during Early Access. No public “1.0 ready” technical checklist exists. | Ongoing |
| Launch-only content | Steam says some content is intended to arrive with the full version rather than during Early Access, but it is not publicly itemised. | Confirmed, unspecified |
Version 0.5 is not a “50% to release” meter. A version number is not an audited measure of story completion, production effort or time remaining. Grounded 2 also ships hotfixes, feature updates and rebucketed roadmap work outside any simple countdown to 1.0.
04 / Why there is no defensible date forecast
The roadmap cannot be turned into a 1.0 date
Fall, Winter and Future Plans establish development direction, not a full-release calendar. Forecasts such as 2027 remain estimates until Obsidian names a year, window or date.
What Obsidian has actually said
Steam says the team is not locking itself into a hard Early Access end date and that timing depends on development and community feedback. Parker’s interviews define completion goals rather than a year. [1][2]
What the evidence does not support
- Projecting the first Grounded’s Early Access duration onto the sequel.
- Treating Fall → Winter → Future Plans as a hidden countdown to 1.0.
- Reading version 0.5 as proof that half the development time remains.
- Treating a media or community 2027 estimate as an announced release window.
PC / Xbox Early Access & Game Preview
The public development period begins.
Into the Abyss + PS5 Early Access
A major expansion and platform launch, explicitly still inside Early Access.
Current plan
Fall → Winter → Future Plans
The Year Two roadmap continues beyond the current live build.
No date
Version 1.0 / full release
The completion gate remains undated.
What would make a release window defensible?
A new first-party statement: for example, Obsidian or Xbox naming a year, season, month or date; a dated 1.0 milestone appearing on the official roadmap; or Steam’s Early Access disclosure being updated with a full-release window. Until then, the evidence supports no confirmed 1.0 date or year.
05 / Saves and progression at 1.0
Obsidian has not announced how Grounded 2 saves will transition to 1.0
Until a Grounded 2 policy is published, neither a full wipe nor full carry-over should be treated as guaranteed.
What is confirmed for Grounded 2
No durable first-party 1.0 migration policy has been published for Grounded 2. There is no confirmed answer yet for story progress, buildings, inventories, unlocks or whole-world continuity at full release.
The safe answer today is simply: unknown until Obsidian publishes the 1.0 save policy.
Historical context · not a forecast
The first Grounded used selective migration at 1.0
For the original Grounded, the 1.0 release reset story and quest progress while carrying over inventory, player bases, unlocked recipes, Milk Molars, science purchases and other unlocks. [8]
That is useful precedent for how Obsidian handled the first game, but it does not establish what Grounded 2 will do.
06 / Price at full release
Steam says the price will likely rise as Grounded 2 approaches 1.0
That is an official Early Access intention, not a published final price.
The final 1.0 price is not announced.
Steam says Grounded 2 is offered at a lower price during Early Access and that the price will likely increase as more content is added and the game gets closer to 1.0. The word “likely” matters: no final amount, change date or guaranteed price rise has been announced. [1]
07 / Other 1.0-linked targets
Several other changes are explicitly tied to 1.0
These are developer-stated launch targets. They are separate from Parker’s two defining 1.0 pillars and should not be treated as a complete blocker list.
Planned for the final 1.0 release
Parker says unlockable achievements/trophies will arrive with the final 1.0 release rather than during the current Early Access period. [3]
Enhanced label intended by 1.0
Parker says Grounded 2 is not yet labelled PS5 Pro Enhanced, but the team intends to have that label by the time 1.0 launches. [3]
Solid 60fps Performance Mode is a 1.0 target
Parker says the team expects a solid 60fps Performance Mode on both PS5 and PS5 Pro by version 1.0. That is a future target, not a current-state guarantee. [3]
UE 5.7 is related technical work, not a stated 1.0 pillar
Parker says the team plans to move Grounded 2 to Unreal Engine 5.7 after Into the Abyss for optimisation gains. Obsidian has not described that engine migration as one of the two defining 1.0 pillars, so it should not be used as a release-date signal. [3]
08 / Release FAQ
The questions people actually mean when they search “Grounded 2 release date”
Direct answers, with Early Access and full release kept separate.
When will Grounded 2 reach 1.0?
Unknown. Obsidian has not announced a hard date or year for the full 1.0 release. The current roadmap also does not assign 1.0 a dated milestone.
Is Grounded 2 fully released?
No. It is playable on Xbox Series X|S, Xbox on PC/Windows, Steam PC and PlayStation 5, but remains in Game Preview / Early Access and active development.
Is Grounded 2 1.0 coming in 2027?
There is no official 2027 window. Some media and community forecasts use 2027, but those are estimates rather than an Obsidian announcement.
What will 1.0 add?
The official Steam disclosure says the complete story, all content developed through Early Access and additional content not released during Early Access. Parker also describes the complete park and the full story through Acts 1–3 plus endgame as key 1.0 goals.
Will Early Access saves work at 1.0?
Obsidian has not announced a Grounded 2 1.0 save-migration policy. The first Grounded used selective migration at 1.0, but that historical precedent is not a guarantee for Grounded 2.
Will Grounded 2 cost more at 1.0?
Steam says the Early Access price will likely rise as the game gets closer to 1.0, but no final price is announced.
Will achievements and trophies arrive at 1.0?
Chris Parker says achievements/trophies are planned for 1.0. Treat that as an attributed developer statement until the feature is formally released.
What this page is grounded in
Primary sources establish the current lifecycle and live build. Direct developer interviews are used only for attributed 1.0 criteria and technical targets. Release-date forecasts are not treated as confirmation.
Supports: no hard Early Access end date, complete story at 1.0, additional full-version content, likely price increase approaching 1.0. Its live-feature inventory is stale, so it is not used here to define the current build. Open source ↗
Supports: no 1.0 date; intended park and story goals should be fulfilled before 1.0. Open source ↗
Supports: Acts 1–3 plus endgame/full-park framing; achievements/trophies; PS5 Pro Enhanced intent; 60fps target; UE 5.7 plan. Open source ↗
Supports: current Early Access / Game Preview state across supported release platforms. Open source ↗
Supports: current Fall, Winter and Future Plans horizons; no dated 1.0 milestone. Open source ↗
Supports: PS5 launch occurs during the continuing Early Access development period, not at 1.0. Open source ↗
Supports: current reviewed live branch and ongoing Early Access progression. Open source ↗
Supports: the preceding live branch and Early Access stabilisation work. Open source ↗
Supports only the historical comparison: Grounded 1 reset story/quest progress at 1.0 while carrying over bases, inventory and several unlock categories. It does not establish Grounded 2 policy. Open source ↗