At this year's Summer Games Fest, Borrowers-style survival sim Grounded was announced to be leaving Early Access this September, but developer Obsidian didn't narrow it down to a specific a date. That's now changed, as Grounded's director Adam Brennecke announced the game will officially hit 1.0 on September 27th.
In a video posted on Twitter, Brennecke said "The date for the 1.0 release is going to be September 27th," adding "We're putting the final touches on everything. It's going to be our biggest update ever." The video also marks the two-year anniversary of Grounded's Early Access launch, which is serendipitous.
Brennecke didn't share details on what's coming in that 1.0 update. But he did outline some new features that have just been added to the public test of Grounded, in what will constitute the game's final Early Access update. These include a "pet gnat" and a new building called the Cookery. This will form the new baseline for the game's cooking system, enabling players to start making meals earlier in the game. There's also a "secret feature" coming up that Brennecke says isn't quite ready to reveal yet, but which Obsidian will "be talking about shortly". Intriguing!
I haven't played Grounded myself, and will now probably wait until the full experience is out in the wild. But Fraser had a trawl through the undergrowth last year. Aside from starting a beef with its "asshole ants", he described it as "a really inventive survival romp that isn't full of busywork." It's also worth noting that Obsidian's survival game is soon getting a TV adaptation, penned by Star Wars: Clone Wars writer Brent Friedman.
