The Pond Update is Grounded’s biggest content update yet, with a massive list of new features and changes
Grounded is stepping it up, with a whole new area, lots more to do, and one big fish.
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What you need to know
It’s finally happening! After speculating onGrounded’s next updatefor months with rumors, leaks, and a recenttease straight from the horsefly’s mouth, the Pond Update forGroundedis official and it’s almost upon us. As expected, the Pond Update is absolutely massive, and it’s going to add a ton of new features and content to the game that players have been expectantly waiting on for ages.
Because this is the biggest updateGrounded’s early accesshas seen so far, it does need a little bit of extra time in the oven. We’ll slide the official changelog into the rest of ourGrounded changelogsand keep you posted on exactly when you can expect the Pond Update to land in November, but until then dedicated fans can check out the earlier builds with a public insider test startingtoday.
If you want the quickest possible rundown, the Pond Update for Grounded will completely overhaul the pond area, adding a Koi Fish, three brand-new creatures and updates to an existing one, tons of new areas to explore and discover, lots of new crafting recipes, and more.
Now, let’s take a closer look at everything coming to Grounded in November.
It’s a big(ger) world out there.
Obsidian Entertainment makes its exclusive debut on Xbox One and PC with Grounded, a unique survival experience that literally makes all of your problems much, much bigger. Join your friends as you’re shrunk down to the size of an ant and are forced to survive in a dangerous backyard.
Our Grounded Pond Update interview
Before you head over to the extensive list of announcements and cool stuff we have to show you about Grounded’s next big update, be sure to check out ourGrounded Pond Update interviewwith Adam Brenneke, Grounded’s Game Director, for some extra behind-the-scenes info on Grounded. We discuss the Pond Update, future plans, accessibility, and a whole lot more.
Xbox Series X and S enhancements
Our first stop today is some additional information on something we were already aware of:next-gen visual and performance enhancements for Grounded. On November 10, Grounded will be getting some sweet upgrades to help it run and look better on theXbox Series XandXbox Series S, and now we know exactly what we’re looking at for both consoles.
Grounded’s next-gen update will include:
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Finally, we now know that Grounded has been keeping something very sneaky hidden from us. Thanks to its early access status, Grounded has been built from day one on Xbox’s new GDK, making it one of the very first games to be built entirely using Xbox’s latest development kit. This won’t really affect players with the end result, but it’s still very cool!
The Pond Update
Alright, now that we’ve gotten such tiny details out of the way, like how Grounded is supporting the next generation of powerful Xbox consoles day one with a massive update improving graphics and performance, we can move on to the really big news of the day. I’m speaking, of course, about the Pond Update, otherwise known as the November Content Update, which will mark the third content update that Grounded has received in its early access state. While both of Grounded’s first two content updates were relatively modest in scale, the Pond Update steps things up in every way.
We have a lot to cover here so let’s get started:
General overview
Main features
Creatures and insects
Crafting recipes
Building improvements
When does the Pond Update release?
So when does Grounded’s biggest update actually arrive? Well, I’ll outline the release information for everything in this article very quickly:
Grounded’s future plans
When the team at Obsidian Entertainment offered to give us a sneak peek at the Pond Update (I didn’t tell you that) they also shared with us some of the future plans that are in store for Grounded, and the future is looking pretty great. We wrote down some of the best tidbits, so you have something to look forward to after you’ve explored everything the Pond Update has to offer. But that’ll take you a while, right?
It’s a big(ger) world out there.
Obsidian Entertainment makes its exclusive debut on Xbox One and PC with Grounded, a unique survival experience that literally makes all of your problems much, much bigger. Join your friends as you’re shrunk down to the size of an ant and are forced to survive in a dangerous backyard.
Grounded
Main
Zachary Boddy (They / Them) is a Staff Writer for Windows Central, primarily focused on covering the latest news in tech and gaming, the best Xbox and PC games, and the most interesting Windows and Xbox hardware. They have been gaming and writing for most of their life starting with the original Xbox, and started out as a freelancer for Windows Central and its sister sites in 2019. Now a full-fledged Staff Writer, Zachary has expanded from only writing about all things Minecraft to covering practically everything on which Windows Central is an expert, especially when it comes to Microsoft. You can find Zachary on Twitter@BoddyZachary.
