Xbox announces 10-foot red ant buggie giveaway for Grounded 2

Key Takeaways

1. Xbox is hosting a sweepstakes for a chance to win a 10-foot red ant buggy-mount from Grounded 2, open until August 31, 2025.
2. Grounded 2 will be priced at $29.99 for the Standard Edition and $39.99 for the Founder’s Edition, which includes additional content.
3. The sequel expands the game’s map to nearly three times the size of the original and introduces rideable mounts called “Buggies.”
4. The addition of mounts was a highly requested feature from fans of the first game and is a key element in the new game.
5. Future updates will follow a roadmap with substantial content drops every few months, differing from the monthly updates of the first game.

Xbox has done a pretty interesting publicity stunt to increase excitement for Obsidian Entertainment’s upcoming Grounded 2, which will be available for Game Preview on Xbox Series S|X, PC, Xbox Cloud, Steam Early Access, and Xbox Game Pass.

Sweepstakes for Gamers

Players can join Xbox’s sweepstakes for a chance to win a giant 10-foot red ant buggy-mount from Grounded 2. To enter, they need to follow Xbox on X or Instagram and use the hashtag #Grounded2Sweepstakes. This giveaway is open until August 31, 2025. Additionally, those going to Gamescom 2025 in Cologne, Germany, can check out the life-sized red ant plushie on August 20 at the Xbox Fanfest.

The announcement came via an Xbox Wire news post, where Aaron Greenberg, the Vice President of Games Marketing, shared:

“We turned the in-game Red Ant Buddy into a real-world, mountable, ultra-soft, totally bonkers gaming plush. It’s part furniture, part Buddy, and all awesome.”

Pricing and Features

The price for Grounded 2 is set at $29.99 for the Standard Edition, and $39.99 for the Founder’s Edition. The Founder’s Edition comes with four cosmetic skins, a digital artbook, a soundtrack, and unique emotes. Furthermore, the game supports Xbox Play Anywhere, enabling players to transfer saves between Xbox and PC seamlessly.

This sequel builds on the 15 million players of the original Grounded, shrinking them into Brookhollow Public Park. It enhances the original’s cooperative survival experience by expanding the map to nearly three times the size of the first game’s backyard. This time around, players can utilize rideable mounts called “Buggies,” which include Orb Weavers and Red Ant Soldiers.

Fan-Favorite Mounts

Fans of the first game had long asked for mounts, and they are finally making their debut in this sequel. Greenberg emphasized the importance of these new buggies, saying, “The most requested addition from the Grounded community is the cornerstone of the new game.”

The Game Preview launch is set to deliver a roadmap for future updates, with substantial content drops every few months, which is a shift from the monthly updates seen in the first game. Currently, the game is exclusive to Xbox and PC, but Obsidian Entertainment hasn’t dismissed the idea of a release on PlayStation or Nintendo platforms, following Grounded 1’s multi-platform launch on April 16, 2024.

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