Latest news with #Grounded
Daily Mirror
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
Everything you need to know about Grounded 2 early access including how to play for free
The four teens from the original Grounded have been shrunk down once again to fight for survival in Brookhollow Park. Whether you've had a go at Obsidian's initial venture into the gigantic world of the backyard and eccentric scientists or not, Grounded 2 whisks us off on another miniature adventure for the whole family. Grounded 2 is set to enter early access for PC and Xbox players, featuring the four teenagers from the original game shrunken down once more; but this time, they're battling for survival in Brookhollow Park, which is significantly larger than the backyard they previously conquered when they were miniaturised. To accommodate the increased scale of the kids' new environment, Obsidian is introducing more convenient modes of transport, with the addition of Buggy Mounts, which are – as you might have guessed! – bugs that can be used as mounts. You'll be hatching, raising and riding your own insect pals that can also assist in combat, as well as collecting resources for base-building. Obsidian has once again made the prospect of being insect-sized slightly less daunting, with Arachnophobia Safe Mode, and even has a free gift for players. This isn't just for those who opt for the pricier Founder's Edition either. The Tools of Yore (cosmetic items to jazz up your base) will be gifted to all Grounded 2 players, regardless of the edition of the game they purchase, or if they're playing on Xbox Game Pass. There are several ways to get early access to Grounded 2 before its full release, which doesn't have a confirmed date yet. If it follows the same timeline as its predecessor, we might not see the full release of Grounded 2 for a few years. You can play Grounded 2 early access for free as part of Xbox Game Pass (depending on your subscription tier), or you can purchase the standard and Founder's Editions on Steam or Xbox, with the latter being part of Microsoft 's Game Preview programme. Here's all the information you need about the Grounded 2 early access release date, price, and what each edition offers. Grounded 2 early access release date If you're curious about when Grounded 2 early access begins, it's Tuesday, July 29 (for both Xbox Game Preview and general early access). While an official release time hasn't been announced, it's likely that the Grounded 2 early access release time will be 10am PDT / 1pm EDT / 6pm BST, based on the Grounded early access release time (via Obsidian) and the game's full launch with version 1.0, which went live at the exact same time (via Obsidian). Here's how that translates to your time zone: How to play Grounded 2 early access If you're keen to get your hands on Grounded 2 early access without parting with any cash, then you'll need to be a member of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate or Xbox Game Pass PC. While the subscription isn't free, it's worth noting that a month's membership costs less than the game itself, so if you're not already signed up, you could do so for just a month to give it (and the extensive Game Pass library) a go, or upgrade your current subscription level. Otherwise, you'll have to fork out for either the standard or Founder's Edition of the game; but don't fret, you can upgrade from the standard to the Founder's Edition to bag the extra perks (which won't impact gameplay) at any point before the game's full release. We're still in the dark about regional pricing, as the store pages aren't even displaying the cost of the game yet, but Xbox has revealed the US price of Grounded 2 early access in a blog post, so keep in mind the UK and AU prices below are merely estimates. Grounded 2 standard edition Grounded 2 Founder's Edition The upgrade from the standard to the Founder's Edition will set you back $10 (likely £10/ AU10), and you can opt to upgrade at any point during the Grounded 2 early access period.
CNET
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- CNET
Xbox Game Pass Adds Grounded 2 and Others This Month
The award-winning, quirky survival game Grounded is like the game version of the classic '80s comedy film Honey, I Shrunk the Kids. And Xbox Game Pass subscribers can get early access to that game's sequel, Grounded 2, on July 29. Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, a CNET Editors' Choice award pick, offers hundreds of games you can play on your Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, Xbox One and PC or mobile device for $20 a month. A subscription gives you access to a large library of games, with new ones, including Doom: The Dark Ages, added monthly, plus other benefits such as online multiplayer and deals on non-Game Pass titles. Here are the games Microsoft is bringing to Game Pass soon. You can also check out other games the company added to the service recently, like Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 + 4. RoboCop: Rogue City Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass and Game Pass Standard subscribers can play now. Serve the public, protect the innocent and uphold the law as the cyborg RoboCop. You'll investigate crimes in Old Detroit before using your cyborg strength, cybernetic implants and arsenal of weapons to eradicate gangs from the area. This game is a whole new RoboCop story based on the film series, and Peter Weller, the original RoboCop himself, returns to voice the titular character. My Friendly Neighborhood Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass subscribers can play now. Something's going on with everyone's favorite Saturday morning puppet show, and it's up to you to figure out what in this survival horror game. You'll solve puzzles and use tools and improvised weapons to fend off your multicolored foes. So if you have anything against Barney or Big Bird, you can take out your feelings on them with this game. Back to the Dawn Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass subscribers can play now. This game is like if the series Prison Break took place in the Zootopia universe. You'll play as either a fox named Thomas or a black panther named Bob as they try to navigate the prison system and escape with their lives. With multiple escape routes and over 100 quests you can complete, you can replay this game numerous times and have a different experience each time. Abiotic Factor Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass subscribers can play on July 22. Science meets violence in this 1990s-inspired sci-fi survival game. You and up to five other players can choose your areas of expertise, build your scientist and explore a massive, top-secret underground complex filled with artifacts and supernatural horrors that could tear you limb from limb. And remember, safety, security and secrecy are of the utmost importance… usually. Wheel World Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass subscribers can play on July 23. If you want to take a nice, relaxing bike ride, this game is for you. Previously known as Ghost Bike, this game puts you behind the handlebars of one of the last ghost bikes around. These bikes can traverse between the lands of the living and the dead. You can explore these lands at your leisure while you race other riders and upgrade your ride with treasures you find along the way. Wuchang: Fallen Feathers Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass subscribers can play on July 24. This souls-like RPG is set during the final days of the Ming Dynasty. You play as an amnesiac pirate warrior named Wuchang on a quest to uncover the truth behind a world full of chaos. You'll fight monstrous creatures in forgotten temples and overgrown ruins, unlock new weapons and master devastating techniques in order to bring peace to yourself and others. Grounded 2 (game preview) Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass subscribers can play on July 29. You've been shrunk to the size of an ant -- again -- and you'll have to survive the dangerous, miniature world. You'll fight spiders and wasps, craft weapons and homes and even ride on your own insect friends to get around. You'll unravel new mysteries along the way, but be careful. Something else is out there, and it hasn't forgotten about you. Farming Simulator 25 Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass and Game Pass Standard subscribers can play on Aug. 1. Farming isn't always as simple as games like Stardew Valley might make it out to be, but it can still be very rewarding. If you want a taste of what goes into building and maintaining your own farm, give Farming Simulator 25 a try. You'll grow diverse crops, raise different animals and with the weather-changing, ground-deforming atmosphere, you'll face all kinds of challenges along the way. Games leaving Game Pass on July 31 While Microsoft is adding those games to Game Pass soon, it's also removing three other games on July 31. So you still have some time to finish your campaign or complete any side quests before you have to buy these games separately. Gigantic: Rampage Edition Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess Turnip Boy Robs a Bank For more on Xbox, discover other games available on Game Pass now, read our hands-on review of the gaming service and learn which Game Pass plan is right for you. You can also check out what to know about upcoming Xbox game price hikes.
CNET
15-07-2025
- Entertainment
- CNET
Grounded 2 and These Other Games Are Coming to Xbox Game Pass Soon
The award-winning, quirky survival game Grounded is like the game version of the classic '80s comedy film, Honey, I Shrunk the Kids. And on July 29, Xbox Game Pass subscribers can get early access to that game's sequel, Grounded 2. Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, a CNET Editors' Choice award pick, offers hundreds of games you can play on your Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, Xbox One and PC or mobile device for $20 a month. A subscription gives you access to a large library of games, with new titles, including Doom: The Dark Ages, added monthly, plus other benefits such as online multiplayer and deals on non-Game Pass titles. Here are the games Microsoft is bringing to Game Pass soon. You can also check out all the games the company added to the service recently, like Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 + 4. RoboCop: Rogue City Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass and Game Pass Standard subscribers can play on July 17. Serve the public, protect the innocent and uphold the law as the cyborg RoboCop. You'll investigate crimes in Old Detroit before using your cyborg strength, cybernetic implants and arsenal of weapons to eradicate gangs from the area. This game is a whole new RoboCop story based on the film series, and Peter Weller, the original RoboCop himself, returns to voice the titular character. My Friendly Neighborhood Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass subscribers can play on July 17. Something's going on with everyone's favorite Saturday morning puppet show, and it's up to you to figure out what in this survival horror game. You'll solve puzzles and use tools and improvised weapons to fend off your multicolored foes. So if you have anything against Barney or Big Bird, you can take out your feelings on them with this game. Back to the Dawn Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass subscribers can play on July 18. This game is like if the series Prison Break took place in the Zootopia universe. You'll play as either a fox named Thomas or a black panther named Bob as they try to navigate the prison system and escape with their lives. With multiple escape routes and over 100 quests you can complete, you can replay this game numerous times and have a different experience each time. Abiotic Factor Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass subscribers can play on July 22. Science meets violence in this 1990s-inspired sci-fi survival game. You and up to five other players can choose your areas of expertise, build your scientist and explore a massive, top-secret underground complex filled with artifacts and supernatural horrors that could tear you limb from limb. And remember, safety, security and secrecy are of the utmost importance… usually. Wheel World Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass subscribers can play on July 23. If you want to take a nice, relaxing bike ride, this game is for you. Previously known as Ghost Bike, this game puts you behind the handlebars of one of the last ghost bikes around. These bikes can traverse between the lands of the living and the dead. You can explore these lands at your leisure while you race other riders and upgrade your ride with treasures you find along the way. Wuchang: Fallen Feathers Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass subscribers can play on July 24. This souls-like RPG is set during the final days of the Ming Dynasty. You play as an amnesiac pirate warrior named Wuchang on a quest to uncover the truth behind a world full of chaos. You'll fight monstrous creatures in forgotten temples and overgrown ruins, unlock new weapons and master devastating techniques in order to bring peace to yourself and others. Grounded 2 (game preview) Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass subscribers can play on July 29. You've been shrunk to the size of an ant -- again -- and you'll have to survive the dangerous, miniature world. You'll fight spiders and wasps, craft weapons and homes and even ride on your own insect friends to get around. You'll unravel new mysteries along the way, but be careful. Something else is out there, and it hasn't forgotten about you. Farming Simulator 25 Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass and Game Pass Standard subscribers can play on Aug. 1. Farming isn't always as simple as games like Stardew Valley might make it out to be, but it can still be very rewarding. If you want a taste of what goes into building and maintaining your own farm, give Farming Simulator 25 a try. You'll grow diverse crops, raise different animals and with the weather-changing, ground-deforming atmosphere, you'll face all kinds of challenges along the way. Games leaving Game Pass on July 31 While Microsoft is adding those games to Game Pass soon, it's also removing three other games on July 31. So you still have some time to finish your campaign or complete any side quests before you have to buy these games separately. Gigantic: Rampage Edition Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess Turnip Boy Robs a Bank For more on Xbox, discover other games available on Game Pass now, read our hands-on review of the gaming service and learn which Game Pass plan is right for you. You can also check out what to know about upcoming Xbox game price hikes.
Time Out
11-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Time Out
Catch free screenings of Met Opera performances as part of Summer HD Fest
Opera fiends rejoice! The Metropolitan Opera announced the return of its beloved Summer HD Festival to Lincoln Center Plaza this summer, with free nightly screenings from Friday, August 22 to Monday, September 1. For ten nights, the Met will project both classics and new works from its Live in HD series onto a screen on the facade of the opera house: Verdi's Aida, Beethoven's Fidelio, Strauss' Salome, Mozart's Le Nozze di Figaro, Jeanine Tesori's Grounded, Offenbach's Les Contes d'Hoffmann, Daniel Catán's Florencia en el Amazonas, Puccini's Tosca, Rossini's Il Barbiere di Siviglia, and Puccini's La Fanciulla del West are all on the lineup. The series kicks off Friday, August 22, with a special screening of Maestro, the 2023 Leonard Bernstein biopic starring Bradley Cooper and Carey Mulligan. Directed by Cooper, the movie features plenty of musical moments, including Bernstein's Mass and the Fancy Free ballet reinterpreted by Tony winner Justin Peck. The rest of the line-up includes highlights from the Met's 2024-2025 season: Michael Mayer's production of Aida, featuring Angel Blue, Judit Kutasi, Piotr Beczala, Quinn Kelsey, and Morris Robinson; Fidelio, with Lise Davidsen, Ying Fang, David Butt Philip, Magnus Dietrich, Tomasz Konieczny and René Pape; Salome, the adaptation of Oscar Wilde's play, starring Elza van den Heever, Michelle DeYoung, Gerhard Siegel and Peter Mattei; and Richard Eyre's production of Le Nozze di Figaro, with a young cast that includes Federica Lombardi, Olga Kulchynska, Sun‑Ly Pierce, Joshua Hopkins and Michael Sumuel. On Wednesday, August 27, see a screening of Tony winner Jeanine Tesori's opera about drone warfare, Grounded, starring Emily D'Angelo and directed by Michael Mayer. The rest of the series includes Bartlett Sher's productions of Les Contes d'Hoffmann and Il Barbiere di Siviglia; director Mary Zimmerman's take on Florencia en el Amazonas; Lise Davidsen, Freddie De Tommaso, and Quinn KelseyIl in Tosca, and the 2018 production of Puccini's La Fanciulla del West, with Eva‑Maria Westbroek, Jonas Kaufmann and Željko Lučić.
New York Post
02-07-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Post
Metropolitan Opera's Peter Gelb blames President Trump for sales slump — but needs to look in the mirror
Blaming the president is a popular pastime these days, but one of America's cultural leaders has come up with something really novel in the genre. 'Metropolitan Opera season attendance dropped slightly following the Trump administration's immigration crackdown that coincided with a decrease in tourists to New York.' Who knew rounding up hardened illegal-immigrant criminals would hit the hallowed halls of the country's most prestigious opera house hard? Advertisement 6 President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump attend a performance at the newly de-woked Kennedy Center in DC. REUTERS That line is the first sentence of a June 13 Associated Press news report that takes as fact Metropolitan Opera general director Peter Gelb's explanation for a slump in sales. With the Met's season over, Gelb has been making the rounds, pushing this narrative repeatedly in interviews and podcasts. He even ripped the American president last week from a Kyiv stage, telling Ukrainians his government 'no longer stands for some of democracy's most basic principles.' Advertisement 6 Metropolitan Opera general director Peter Gelb savaged Trump from this Kyiv stage last week. Ukrinform/Shutterstock The Met matched its 2023-24 sales, at 72% of capacity — but had projected 75%. 'We were on track to continue to improve,' Gelb said. 'I attribute the fact that we didn't achieve our sales goals to a significant drop in tourism.' That's 'a direct consequence' of Trump policy, Gelb told German outlet BackstageClassical. Advertisement He said New York saw 17% fewer tourists after President Trump took office, sighing to AP about 'the times in which we live.' Gelb's international Blame Trump tour might make him more popular at Upper West Side cocktail parties (which he's been attending for life: His father was New York Times managing editor Arthur Gelb). But he should look closer to home to understand why he's not seeing success at the storied institution he's run for 18 years. 6 Gelb joined star Anna Netrebko on a Met 2007 red carpet. WireImage Advertisement The impresario can't help putting the political into his productions, even though audiences are anything but enamored of these new, woke operas. And he needlessly canceled the company's biggest star, Anna Netrebko — to make a political point he still crows about even as his decisions have been disastrous for the Met. 'Mediocre or even bad.' 'Flop after flop of terrible productions.' 'Just bad.' Those are some of the judgments I can print in a family newspaper about Gelb's recent runs from Reddit's opera lovers. 'Gelb has had contempt for opera and his own artform since he started,' one declared in a thread with almost nothing positive to say about the manager. 'Grounded' opened this past Met season after a heavy revision from its 2023 Washington, DC, premiere. The 'antiwar opera,' as Gelb calls it, centers on an F-16 pilot grounded after she unexpectedly gets pregnant; on her return to the military, she's still on the ground — going after human targets by manning drones. 6 Emily D'Angelo (left) starred in the season-opening 'antiwar opera,' in Gelb's words,'Grounded.' AFP via Getty Images Advertisement 'This isn't an opera about the tragedy of war — its message is evil only comes from our side,' Post columnist Daniel McCarthy wrote in these pages. Even with a September opening-night red-carpet gala — which the company trumpeted as 'the first opera by a female composer ever to open a Met season' — ticket sales were sluggish: It was the worst-attended opera this season, selling just 50% of capacity. Osvaldo Golijov's 'Ainadamar,' which Gelb described as 'about the murder of the Spanish poet Federico García Lorca by the fascist forces of Franco, eerily mirroring the troubled world in which we live today,' sold just 61% of tickets. What did sell? Advertisement A new production of Verdi's 'Aida' (82%), 'Moby Dick' (81%) and Puccini's 'Tosca' (78%). Even Tchaikovsky's 'Pique Dame (The Queen of Spades)' — not one of the American stage's most popular operas — sold 77%. Those numbers — low for contemporary woke operas, high for great works — can be seen in every recent season. 6 Gelb blames the Met's sales slump on Trump — and not on his hyperpolitical management. Roman Tiraspolsky – Of course, the Met makes even the classics 'relevant.' Last season's 'Carmen' updated the scene to present-day America. People buying pricey tickets to see beautiful sets and costumes up close were treated to singers in jean cutoffs. Advertisement Gelb took to the air on the June 7 live radio broadcast of the Tchaikovsky opera to declare he doesn't want Russian artists 'held hostage' to Vladimir Putin's 'villainous acts,' noting some on stage are Russian. 'We want to cancel Putin, not Pushkin.' It was a bit rich coming from the guy who brags of having personally 'dismissed' the company's biggest star, Netrebko, after Putin's 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine. He was gloating about the move just last week to Ukrainian journalists. 'When I arrived at the Met, Netrebko was just getting launched and I immediately saw that she was someone on whose career the Met could hang its hat,' Gelb has said. Advertisement Indeed, she headlined the moneymaking New Year's Eve gala more than once; her Met performances frequently sold out. The Russian soprano denounced Putin's war, but Gelb didn't care. He's never seen an opportunity to grandstand politically he hasn't grabbed. And he's allowed on stage plenty of less-famous Russians who haven't said as much as she has — sometimes even nothing — against the Ukraine war. (Netrebko notes in her lawsuit against Gelb and the Met that the company's continued to feature male singers who, unlike her, have appeared in Russia at Putin- and war-supporting events since the full-scale invasion.) 6 Ex-Met star Netrebko still sells out European opera houses. It's opera lovers in New York and beyond who pay the price — along with the Met's sliding sales. Netrebko is still selling out European houses. WQXR finally broadcast her work last month, with a production from Milan's La Scala. Listeners took to the comments in celebration and complaint. Joe Pearce from Brooklyn — who happens to be the Vocal Record Collectors Society's president — mourned 'the remainder of her best years totally denied to us by a Met Opera manager who doesn't seem to understand that he is running an opera company and not for political office.' What will Peter Gelb do once Trump's second term is over, having lost his raison d'être?
