- Games
- Grounded
Grounded
Build a home with friends and face giant insects as tiny teenagers in a backyard.
Online co-op for up to 4 players, with crossplay.
- 4 online
- Crossplay
Where to buy
Playing together
- Online co-op4 players
- Local co-opNoOnline only
- YesPC, PlayStation, Xbox, SwitchFriends on different platforms, such as PC and PlayStation, can play together.
- YesA friend can join or leave while you are already playing, without starting over.
- Not confirmedFriends play free with a Friend's Pass or similar.
- Steam DeckVerifiedValve's own rating
About the game
You wake up smaller than a blade of grass in a suburban backyard. You collect plant fibres and insect parts, turn them into tools and armour, and build somewhere to sleep. Food, water and dangerous creatures shape each trip away from home. Hidden labs and recordings help you work out how you became so small.
Up to four players share the work online. You can gather building supplies while a friend prepares weapons, then head out together to face larger insects. Your base and equipment give the group reasons to return over several evenings. Quiet building stretches leave room to chat, but a spider or a difficult fight can quickly demand everyone's attention.
How it feels
Kind of game
One lasting world your group settles. You gather, build and push into dangerous places together.
- A big part
- Now and then
- Laughter and chaos
- Calm and coziness
- Jumping and climbing
- Sessions
- Ongoing world
Rated on our own feel scale. 5 sources back these ratings.
Screenshots
From the Steam store page. Open one to see it full size.
If you liked Grounded
You will probably enjoy these too. Each one says why.
Grounded 2
Why it scores 97%
What they share
- Kind of game
- Shared survival world
- About
- Tiny in a big world and Wilderness survival
- Notable in both
- Fear, Story, Time to hang out, Working in sync, Tension and danger, Planning ahead, Getting better, Fighting
- Core to both
- Exploring, Building and creating, Unlocks and progress
- Sessions
- Ongoing world
- Co-op
- Online co-op for up to 4 players
- Early access
- 4 online
- Crossplay
Both give your group a hard world to survive in together. Both are about being tiny in a giant world and surviving in the wild. Both are often scary.
No big difference from Grounded.
Conan Exiles Enhanced
Why it scores 87%
What they share
- Kind of game
- Shared survival world
- About
- Wilderness survival
- Core to both
- Exploring, Building and creating, Unlocks and progress
- Notable in both
- Time to hang out, Tension and danger, Planning ahead, Getting better, Fighting
- Sessions
- Ongoing world
- Co-op
- Online co-op
- Online
Both give your group a hard world to survive in together. Both are about surviving in the wild. Both are about exploring places you have not seen.
No big difference from Grounded.
Green Hell
Why it scores 87%
What they share
- Kind of game
- Shared survival world
- About
- Wilderness survival
- Notable in both
- Story, Tension and danger, Planning ahead, Getting better, Unlocks and progress
- Core to both
- Exploring, Building and creating
- Sessions
- Ongoing world
- Co-op
- Online co-op for up to 4 players
- 4 online
Both give your group a hard world to survive in together. Both have a story you follow together. Both are about surviving in the wild.
No big difference from Grounded.
All co-op facts
Last checked 24 October 2026. The small numbers link to the page that states each fact.
Co-op
- Fewest players online
- Not confirmed
- Most players on one screen
- Does not apply
- Split or shared screen
- Does not apply
- Separate-device co-op
- Not confirmed
- Most players on separate devices
- Not confirmed
- Free base co-op
- No
The checked Nintendo full-base edition has a paid base-game access model. Demos, trials, guest passes, platform sharing and temporary grants do not establish ongoing free base co-op.
- 17181920
- Confirmed free setups
- Does not apply
- Crossplay between
- PC (Windows), PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch
- 23
- Only one of you needs to buy it
- Not confirmed
- Voice chat by distance
- Not confirmed
Platforms
Genres
Sources
20 pages
grounded.obsidian.netOfficial site, read 23 October 2026
Backs Online co-op, Most players online, Genres, Kind of game, Sessions, About, Building and creating.
- Online co-op: The maker describes online play with up to three friends.
- Most players online: One player and three friends make a group of four.
- Genres: The maker calls it a multiplayer survival adventure.
- Kind of game: Friends keep a shared world, build shelter and gather equipment for dangerous trips.
- Sessions: Shared Worlds retain progress and allow another member to host. The story has an ending, but the group can keep its world.
- About: Tiny teenagers live among oversized garden objects and must survive insects and the elements.
- Building and creating: Shelter construction and crafting are central systems.
grounded.obsidian.netOfficial support page, read 23 October 2026
Backs Crossplay, Crossplay between.
- Crossplay: The guide explains crossplay across Xbox, PlayStation and Nintendo. A linked Microsoft account is required.
- Crossplay between: These families join the PC group named by Microsoft. The maker advises using a non-Nintendo host in mixed groups.
blogs.windows.comOfficial news, read 23 October 2026
Backs Crossplay, Crossplay between.
- Crossplay: Microsoft confirms that PC players can join Xbox, PlayStation 4 and 5, and Nintendo Switch players.
- Crossplay between: One group includes Windows, Xbox One and Series, PlayStation 4 and 5, and Switch.
grounded.obsidian.netOfficial news, read 23 October 2026
Backs Crossplay.
- Crossplay: Crossplay and Shared Worlds need a Microsoft account. Steam-native standard-world sessions can operate without one, but friends must choose the same connection state.
xbox.comStore page, read 23 October 2026
Backs Most players online, Platforms, Release date.
- Most players online: The store lists online co-op for two to four.
- Platforms: The released product supports PC, Xbox One and Xbox Series X and S. Other platforms come from their own stores.
- Release date: The store gives September 27, 2022. This is the full release, rather than the 2020 preview.
store.playstation.comStore page, read 23 October 2026
Backs Local co-op, Platforms.
- Local co-op: The PS4 and PS5 product lists one offline player and up to four online players. Nintendo also lists one player on a single system.
- Platforms: The product includes released PS4 and PS5 versions.
nintendo.comStore page, read 23 October 2026
Backs Platforms, Most players online.
- Platforms: The released Switch edition is also officially supported on Switch 2 through backward compatibility. This is the same edition, not a separate Switch 2 release. Its compatibility does not extend the confirmed crossplay group.
- Most players online: Publisher text allows three friends online, agreeing with the four player cap.
store.steampowered.comStore page, read 23 October 2026
Backs Steam app ID, Release status, Unlocks and progress.
- Steam app ID: The page identifies Grounded at app 962130, separate from Grounded 2.
- Release status: The original game is available to buy and lists its full 2022 release.
- Unlocks and progress: You improve equipment, unlock mutations and keep progress in shared worlds.
store.steampowered.comStore data, read 23 October 2026
Backs Steam Deck.
- Steam Deck: Valve rates the game Verified on Steam Deck.
pcgamer.comPress, read 23 October 2026
Backs Fear, Tension and danger, Calm and coziness, Exploring, Getting better, Planning ahead, Time to hang out.
- Fear: PC Gamer, September 27, 2022, describes frightening spiders hunting players.
- Tension and danger: Predators and hazardous resource trips regularly interrupt safety.
- Calm and coziness: The review describes a comfortable base that draws the player back between trips.
- Exploring: The reviewer keeps finding reasons to enter unfamiliar parts of the garden.
- Getting better: Learning insect behaviour and weaknesses matters.
- Planning ahead: The reviewer uses terrain and fights between creatures to overcome stronger enemies.
- Time to hang out: PC Gamer, September 27, 2022, describes friends chatting in their base between encounters. This directly supports room for unrelated conversation, with danger able to interrupt.
gamespot.comPress, read 23 October 2026
Backs Laughter and chaos, Story, Working in sync, Jumping and climbing, Fighting.
- Laughter and chaos: GameSpot, October 13, 2022, describes childlike jokes and playful objects. These support minor humour rather than constant slapstick.
- Story: Audio logs, scenes and character comments carry the shrinking mystery.
- Working in sync: Friends make difficult fights and carrying construction materials easier.
- Jumping and climbing: The review describes jumping across grass and branches and floating with dandelions.
- Fighting: Fights against insects recur alongside gathering and building.
tomsguide.comPress, read 23 October 2026
Backs Time to hang out.
- Time to hang out: Tom's Guide, October 17, 2022, describes repeated gathering and base work. This supports room to chat between encounters, as an assessment of those lower focus tasks.
store.steampowered.comStore data, read 23 October 2026
Backs Steam app ID.
- Steam app ID: The public store response identifies this product at app 962130.
grounded.obsidian.netOfficial news, read 24 October 2026
Backs Release date, Release status.
- Release date: The September 20, 2022 maker schedule gives the full launch as September 27, 2022 at 10 AM Pacific. Later local calendar dates are part of the same worldwide launch.
- Release status: The maker distinguishes its full 1.0 launch from the earlier Game Preview period. The current store offers the released game.
destructoid.comPress, read 24 October 2026
Backs Local co-op.
- Local co-op: Destructoid, April 12, 2024, explicitly says cooperative play is online only. Current PlayStation and Nintendo product counts agree that one device has one player.
grounded.obsidian.netOfficial news, read 24 October 2026
Backs Friends can join mid-game.
- Friends can join mid-game: The August 25, 2022 Shared Worlds notes allow others to join the current host. Only one friend hosts at once. This does not establish automatic host transfer or a continuously running dedicated world.
nintendo.comStore page, read 24 October 2026
Backs Platforms, Free base co-op.
- Platforms: The named current Switch product explicitly supports Switch 2 playback with behavior consistent with Switch. This is the compatible Switch edition.
- Free base co-op: The checked Nintendo full-base edition has a paid base-game access model. Demos, trials, guest passes, platform sharing and temporary grants do not establish ongoing free base co-op.
store.steampowered.comStore page, read 24 October 2026
Backs Free base co-op.
- Free base co-op: The checked computer full-base edition has a paid base-game access model. Demos, trials, guest passes, platform sharing and temporary grants do not establish ongoing free base co-op.
xbox.comStore page, read 24 October 2026
Backs Free base co-op.
- Free base co-op: The checked Xbox full-base edition has a paid base-game access model. Demos, trials, guest passes, platform sharing and temporary grants do not establish ongoing free base co-op.
store.playstation.comStore page, read 24 October 2026
Backs Free base co-op.
- Free base co-op: The checked PlayStation full-base edition has a paid base-game access model. Demos, trials, guest passes, platform sharing and temporary grants do not establish ongoing free base co-op.