What you need to know
- The last major update for Grounded is now available on PC and Xbox to test until its 1.0 release.
- Contains changes to armor and weapon upgrades, how pets behave, converting to custom games, and more.
- Grounded launches for PC and Xbox consoles on Sept. 27.
Xbox and PC survival game Grounded received one last update to test before the game will officially launch in September, Obsidian Entertainment announced this week.
The Home Stretch update, or version 0.14, will be the last major update for the game until its 1.0 release on Sept. 27. The public test is now available for Steam and Xbox players, and contains new features and changes to gameplay.
The biggest change in-game with the update is how armor and weapons are upgraded. Quartzite, Leather Scraps, and Leather Plates have been removed and replaced with unique, non-respawning resources. According to the patch notes, players will be able to obtain crafting recipes for these resources "at certain points in the game," though the cost of upgrades has been reduced.
Players can also now own a gnat as a pet, and another change in the update made it so pets will not leave players when they are unhappy. Other in-game changes include being able to make meals earlier in the game, meals are now cooked in the new Cookery building, and more.
The update now allows players to convert their non-custom games into custom games, where players can tweak certain values while playing. It also includes a save import feature for bringing save files from the Steam version to the Windows Store version on PC.
Grounded will be officially launching after two years of early access on Sept. 27 for Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, Xbox One, PC, and is included with Xbox Game Pass. Its 1.0 release is expected to be the biggest update for the game, and will soon be adapted into an animated television series.
