Obsidian’s Grounded Pulled a Joke on Cyberpunk 2077… and Was Noticed!

July 23rd, and @CyberpunkGame on Twitter excites us with another post, but this time it’s not a piece of lore, a Cyberpunk 2077 update, or a featured merch item.
Instead, the tweet is a mysterious open message directed at another Twitter account:

We see you @GroundedTheGame

— Cyberpunk 2077 (@CyberpunkGame) July 23, 2020

This is not a post typical for @CyberpunkGame, which only makes it even more peculiar.

How Is @GroundedTheGame Connected With Cyberpunk 2077?

Interestingly enough, @GroundedTheGame is an official account for the upcoming survival game Grounded, by a reputable video game developer — Obsidian Entertainment.
(We thoroughly covered Obsidian’s The Outer Worlds on our website, if you are interested!)

Unlike CD Projekt Red, Obsidian is releasing Grounded for early access on the 28th of this month (they plan on full release in 2021).
Yep — that’s gonna happen in just 5 days!

What is Grounded?

The game is already getting a lot of attention for its unique grassroots perspective in the survival genre… literally, of course.

As an ant-sized human you will be able to explore a massive and intriguing world of the Backyard, doing your best to survive the unfortunate down-sizing accident. The game will focus on resource management, crafting, free exploration, challenging insect encounters (at least because of the disturbing close-up…), and an engaging story!

Aside from clever AI of the creatures in the world (for example, whether an insect perceives you as a threat), the game’s entertaining story, and memorable locations, the game offers a rather novel perspective. It might make you think about A Bug’s Life and Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, but this world also hides a mysterious futuristic civilization that will be featured in your story… that is, if you can survive the hungry and heavily competitive world of the insects.

That sounds pretty cool!

So, is CD Project Red simply trying to promote a fellow video game developer?

Well, yes and no.

Obsidian’s Clever Launch Trailer for Grounded

Obsidian actually released an Official Launch Trailer today with a tongue-in-cheek bit cleverly placed in the beginning that features Cyberpunk 2077. It is appropriate both for the Obsidian’s tone as a developer and the game itself. You can watch the trailer right here, but here’s the gist of it:

Quick scenery cuts and epic music of the first few seconds are accompanied by a dramatic voice:
“If you are waiting… for the biggest… game… of the year-…! Then wait for Cyberpunk.”

A few impressed “oo”s are heard in the background of the pause that follows.
“But if you are ready for the smallest, we’ve got you covered!”

Honestly, whether you agree with Cyberpunk 2077‘s hype or not, you have to agree that this kind of self-aware acknowledgement was quite brilliant.
And, it got Obsidian a shout-out from Cyberpunk 2077‘s official Twitter account, who clearly agreed. At least on the basis of them rarely ever mentioning anything outside of the Cyberpunk 2077 progress and fan goodies on their account.

It’s clear that Obsidian is not trying to put Cyberpunk 2077 on the spot with the message (although fans did inevitably discuss Cyberpunk 2077‘s delays in the comments to the post), nor is it trying to compete with the massive open-world sci-fi RPG in any noticeable way. The two are simply too different for that to be a problem.

Instead, Grounded implemented a clever spin on CD Projekt Red’s footprint on the gaming community without taking itself too seriously. The modest little remark won the game a bit more attention and if you are starting to feel interested as well — we highly suggest you check it out and grab yourself a copy on Xbox or Steam on the 28th.