Earlier today, during Xbox’s 2-day broadcast of Gamescom 2025, Chris Parker and Justin Vasquez, Creative Directors at Obsidian Entertainment and Eidos Montreal, respectively, joined the Xbox team to share some details on the Winter Update, the first update in the Grounded 2 roadmap.
Let’s see what’s making its way into Brookhollow Park when the Winter Update for Grounded 2 hits!
First up is AXL, a giant tarantula that now resides somewhere in Brookhollow Park, and the first Park Boss to be added to the game since it launched into Game Preview (Early Access) on July 29th.
“We really wanted to nail that primal, Creature Feature, terrifying experience for players, and it was a clear first choice for us,” said Justin. “We have to bring that fantasy of a giant tarantula to life.”
Estimated to be 16 times larger than the player characters, the fight with AXL has been designed with Buggy combat in mind and has multiple stages to overcome.
Players will have to summon AXL to their arena using some sort of bait to start the fight, and can look forward to several new recipes for weapons, armour, furniture, and decorations, including a ridiculously large bow and throne. As a nice Easter Egg, they shared that AXL gets its name from the 1990 classic film, Home Alone!
Next, Justin and Chris shared details of the new biome coming to Grounded 2, the Garden Biome, which will feature unique areas such as a giant pumpkin patch and a greenhouse, the latter creating a new humid environment to explore.
“The park allows us to explore areas that are really a good mix of handcrafted areas as well as the more natural, organic areas. So the idea of a community garden was very appealing for exactly that reason.”
Along with the Garden Biome comes the first new Buggy since launch, the Ladybug, which joins the Red Soldier Ant and Orbweaver Spider.
“Right now, we have a very loose idea of all the things we think would be exciting,” said Chris. “This is a journey we want to take with the community. And so, our roadmap is us sharing, and we want to hear what you (the community) think would be cool to add.”
No information was given about how the Ladybug will behave as a Buggy, but judging by the concept art shown during the interview, it looks safe to say it won’t be a pushover!
Sadly, we were left with no exact date for when the Winter Update will be arriving, but you can be sure that the GSC team will be keeping an ear to the ground for more Grounded 2 news in the future!
You can catch up on the full interview by visiting the official Xbox YouTube channel.
What do you think of the Grounded 2 Winter Update details shared at Gamescom? Are you excited to see the new Park Boss, Garden Biome, and Ladybug Buggy? Let us know in the comments below.
