Grounded 2’s latest update brings a giant lizard boss and a new buggy upgrade path

Grounded 2 got its Beat the Heat update on April 14, 2026, and the headline addition is a monster with real attitude. Obsidian said the patch brings in King Dozer, a horned lizard boss built as the biggest fight in the series so far, along with a new area to explore and deeper systems for Buggies.

The studio said King Dozer was designed around a fairytale-fantasy idea that carried over from the earlier Toxic Tangle update. In practice, that means a huge, lava-hot showdown where the boss thrives in a sizzling arena and players have to manage the environment as much as the fight itself.

According to Obsidian, the fight also pulls from real horned lizard behavior, then twists it into something more useful for the park’s ecosystem. The boss can punish players with spicy attacks, and the team said minty damage is the way to push back.

Beat the Heat also expands what Buggies can do. Obsidian said the goal is to make them useful beyond transport and harvesting, so the update adds a progression system that lets them gain power, new skills, and family-specific abilities. The new Black Soldier Ant Buggy is part of that push, and players can invest Moldy Milk Molars into stats like stamina, health, and inventory space.

Beating King Dozer pays out new armor, a matching shield, and decorative base items, including a lizard-themed fireplace. Players can also bring a Buggy into the encounter, now that the update gives those mounts a more fleshed-out progression path.

There is also a new place to poke around in the park. The Sinkhole Anthill opens up as a fresh landmark, and Obsidian said some O.R.C. experiments have gone wrong, which means players may run into creatures with unusual behavior or abilities.

Obsidian also said Grounded 2 remains available in Game Preview for Xbox Series X|S, Xbox on PC, ROG Xbox Ally handhelds, and Xbox Cloud, with Game Pass support, and in Early Access on Steam. The game also supports Xbox Play Anywhere, which lets one purchase carry across Xbox consoles and Xbox on PC with cross-saves.

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Grounded 2

Developed by Obsidian Entertainment, Eidos Montréal

Shrunk again, but the world is much larger. In this open-world, single-player or co-op survival adventure, craft weapons and armor, build your base, and traverse the playground on your buggy. But something else is out there—and it hasn’t forgotten you.

• Genre: Role-playing (RPG), Adventure
• Platforms: Xbox Series X|S, PC (Microsoft Windows)
• Modes: Single player, Multiplayer, Co-operative
• Release: 2025-07-29
• Publisher: Xbox Game Studios
• Age Rating: ESRB T
• IGDB Rating: 82.5/100

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