During the first New Game Plus Showcase on Thursday, January 8th, we got to see a snippet from an interview with members of the Grounded team, where they shared some more details about Grounded 2’s upcoming Winter Update.

Having already covered what was revealed about the Grounded 2 Winter Update at Gamescom last year, we will be highlighting all of the new details from yesterday’s interview in this article. You can also watch the full interview below.

After a quick explanation of what the Grounded IP is, Justin Vasquez and Chris Parker, the Creative Director for Grounded 2 at Eidos Montreal and the Game Director for Grounded 2 at Obsidian Entertainment, respectively, revealed how Brookhollow Park’s starting zone, the Picnic Area, was built by reusing assets from the first Grounded. “That original area we launched for Early Access was, by design, meant to feel like a callback to Grounded One,” explains Vasquez. “We wanted new and returning players to feel like this is still Grounded. It still feels the same, but it is in a new location.”

But with the Winter Update, the team saw a chance to bring new ideas to the game. “With this Winter Update, which is the Community Garden,” said Parker, “this was our opportunity to really start delving into a brand new biome, with all that entails.” The Community Garden will be made up of five sub-biomes, including the Vegetable Garden, Greenhouse, and Pumpkin Patch, regions that still have an organic feel to them, but have been designed to feel planned, fit for a purpose.

Of course, a new biome also means new bugs, gear, and experiences, alongside the return of Black Ants and Wasps! “We developed a brand new creature in the Cricket,” revealed Parker, “It’s about the size of a bus, it has some unique attack combinations that are a lot of fun, and it can jump really, really far!” Two types of Earwig, a ranged type and a melee type, are also being added in the Winter Update, with new weapons and armour able to be crafted from these new critters.

The team also made sure to make these new additions feel unique from the other bugs, giving them certain behaviours to give each one some personality, something the team at Obsidian has made sure to do since the first game.

A major difference between the first Grounded and its sequel is the addition of Buggys, rideable insects that players can hatch, tame, and name. Well, players can finally add another ride to their collection with the arrival of the Ladybug Buggy. When asked what sort of role they thought this new Buggy would play in the game, Vasquez described it as “an inevitability”. “I think it’s because every player from Grounded 1, at some point, jumped on the Ladybug and let it transport them around,” Vasquez mused with a chuckle.

“We kept leaning on this idea that she was the tank that could withstand swarms of enemies. And the more we leaned into it, the more we thought it was such a great idea, it’s so much fun! That’s where the idea of the water cannon on her back came from, letting players shoot their enemies and engage them from a different way than the Orb Weaver and Red Ant.”

That covers the major details from the Winter Update interview, which fills out what is left on the Early Access roadmap the devs revealed shortly after Grounded 2 launched into Early Access last year. When queried whether they always intended to release this major update for free, Parker stated that they wanted to do what they had done with the first Grounded. “For us, this is really about going through a game creation process, and not just with ourselves and our internal teams, but with the community.”

While we didn’t get a release date for Grounded 2’s Winter Update, the Grounded Twitter account published a post after the New Game Plus Showcase telling fans to watch the Casually Grounded 2 livestream next week. If you haven’t already, check out the seasonal additions Grounded 2 received at the end of last year!

Grounded 2 is out now in Early Access on PC, Xbox Series X/S, and Xbox Game Pass.

Are you looking forward to Grounded 2’s Winter Update? Let us know in the Gamer Social Club Discord, and chat about your favourite games, join in community game nights, take part in giveaways, and more!