A Close Look at Grounded & Xbox Series X’s Features & Specs

Streaming from their respective homes — dodgy WiFi connections and all! — the hosts of Inside Xbox first showed off a brand new trailer for Obsidian Entertainment’s survival adventure title Grounded. Grounded will release for Xbox Game Preview via Xbox Game Pass Ultimate and Steam Early Access on July 28.

In Grounded, which will feature both single-player and multiplayer options, players will control one of several protagonists who have been mysteriously shrunken to miniature size. Accompanied by your helpful robot buddy BURG.L, you must explore a suburban backyard filled with dangerous insects, plants and items for harvesting, and hidden secrets hinting at what’s really going on. Gameplay elements highlighted in the trailer include weapon and armor crafting, base building, and stealth.

Game director Adam Brennecke gave viewers a closer look at the development process behind Grounded. He also expressed interest in expanding the game’s storyline beyond what would be present in its official Xbox Game Preview release and encouraged fans to share thoughts, ideas, and opinions about the game once it arrived.

Following Inside Xbox’s conclusion, an extra-special livestream showed off some of Grounded’s unique gameplay. Take a look here.

Next, Xbox Live’s very own Larry “Major Nelson” Hryb interviewed Jason Ronald, the Director of Program Management for the upcoming Xbox Series X console. Ronald recapped the console’s recently revealed technical specifications, including brand new innovations which will give the Series X never-before-seen power and speed.

During the interview, Ronald and Major Nelson discussed many exciting elements that the Series X utilizes to make gamers’ experiences more exciting and captivating than ever before. DirectX raytracing and variable shading allow for the creation of highly detailed 3D environments. The Quick Resume function lets gamers pause and resumes their experience from exactly where they left off. DirectStorage stores more of the game experience at once allowing for greater immersion and lighting-fast load times. Finally, the Xbox Velocity Architecture system uses state-of-the-art technology to support game developers in any way possible.

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In addition, Ronald highlighted the high amount of game storage which the console features, as well as the ease of loading and playing games off of external hard drives — including the brand new 1-terabyte CGate Expansion hard drive, specifically designed for maximum compatibility with the Series X.

Accessibility features of the existing Xbox One console were highlighted. These included: Copilot Mode, which allows two controllers to act as one, Family Settings, a collection of over 20 tools to help parents feel more comfortable with how their console is used, Looking for Group, which enables searching out others to play alongside, Gifting Content, a method of buying games for friends and family, and the ability to play background music via apps like Spotify and Pandora even while playing games at the exact same time.

Xbox Game Bar, the customizable gaming overlay for Windows 10, will also be receiving some brand new features and updates. XSplit integration will allow you to control your stream’s settings directly through the Game Bar. Razer’s Cortex eliminates unnecessary processes, optimizing your experience without requiring you to stop playing. With these exciting updates, you won’t have to have nearly as many pesky apps running in the background while you’re using your Xbox Game Bar.

Check out a sneak preview of these new features via the Xbox Windows Insider program here.

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