How To Troubleshoot Grounded 2 Multiplayer Connectivity Issues

Yeah, multiplayer in Grounded 2 can be a real pain sometimes. Especially if you’re trying to play with friends across PC, Xbox, or Steam, and suddenly nothing works — no hosts, can’t join, error messages everywhere. It can feel like the game’s just decided to throw a tantrum. But honestly, most of these issues boil down to some basic connection hiccups, account weirdness, or settings that got tangled up somewhere along the line. This list isn’t foolproof, but it’s a good place to start fixing the common culprits and getting the multiplayer back on track.

Easy Steps to Fix Grounded 2 Multiplayer Not Working Issue

Restart your router and gaming device

This one’s kind of a no-brainer, but it often helps, especially with connection hangs. Multiplayer failures are frequently caused by a glitch in the network session — just enough to break things. Restarting resets everything, clears stuck network states, and forces the game and your router to sync fresh.

• Unplug your router, wait about 30 seconds — or even a minute if you’re feeling patient — then plug it back in.
• Fully restart your PC or console. Don’t just reboot, go for a full shutdown if possible.
• Launch Grounded 2 again and see if multiplayer is functioning now — the moment of truth.

Sometimes it’s the classic “power cycle, ” but on some setups, this might still fail the first time. The key is just to give your network a fresh start.

Try switching Xbox or Microsoft accounts to reset multiplayer state

Weirdly enough, your account can get stuck in a weird multiplayer limbo. Logging out of your main account and signing into a different one often forces the game to reload your multiplayer session. Kind of annoying, but hey, it can fix invite bugs or join failures.

• Sign out of your Xbox or Microsoft account inside the console or on Windows.
• Log into a different account—preferably one you’ve used before for online play—and open Grounded 2 multiplayer.
• Then log back into your main account and see if multiplayer works better now.

This might feel like a semi-hacky workaround, but honestly, it’s been known to clear up stuck states that cause all sorts of strange errors.

Make sure Crossplay is on and Xbox Live is active

Crossplay needs to be enabled, especially if you’re mixing PC and Xbox players. Plus, Xbox Live needs to be working quietly in the background. If either is off or flaky, multiplayer gets choked off.

• Head into Grounded 2’s settings menu, find Crossplay, and turn it on if it isn’t already.
• Test Xbox Live connection by launching another online game or checking your status in the Xbox app or console dashboard.
• If Xbox services aren’t behaving, try reinstalling Gaming Services from the Microsoft Store — it’s that little helper for Xbox app stuff. Search for Gaming Services.

Adjust NAT type to Open or Moderate

This is kinda annoying because NAT issues are a common source of multiplayer chaos. If your NAT is stuck on Strict, you’ll have trouble with invites, dropping sessions, or connecting at all. The goal is to get it to Open or at least Moderate.

• Check NAT status on your Xbox console via Settings > Network > Network Settings. Should say Open or Moderate.
• On your router’s admin page (usually at 192.168.1.1 or similar), forward ports 3074 (UDP & TCP) and 53 (UDP).You might also want to enable UPnP — look under your router’s settings for it.
• After doing that, restart both your router and your console.

Full disclosure: some routers just don’t support port forwarding easily, and NAT types can be stubborn. But giving your network a shot at being “less strict” can fix a lot of connection issues.

Rebuild corrupted shared worlds

If your friends can’t join your world or it crashes out when loading, the save might be corrupted — which isn’t unusual after crashes or network hiccups. The fix? Make a copy and refresh things from scratch.

• Enter the shared world, then choose an option like Create Local Copy — this often appears as “Create Standard Copy” in the menu.
• Load that single-player version and save it again to refresh the save state.
• Then, convert it back to a shared world and re-invite your friends.

On some setups, corrupted save files keep causing grief, and rebuilding from a clean copy is the only way to go. Not always intuitive, but it works.

Update Grounded 2 to the latest version on all devices

Having mismatched versions is a quick recipe for multiplayer headaches. Everyone needs to be on the same build, or things won’t sync. Make it a point to verify updates before diving in.

• On Steam, right-click the game, select Properties > Updates, and click Verify integrity of game files.
• On Xbox or via Game Pass, go to My Games > More Options > Update.
• Ask your friends if they’re also on the latest patch. Sometimes, just one outdated version can break everything.

TEMPORARILY disable VPNs, firewalls, or antivirus software

Security stuff can block the game from reaching multiplayer servers or ports. If nothing else works, turn off VPNs, firewalls, or antivirus briefly to see if that’s the problem. Just remember to turn them back on afterwards — security is important, after all.

• Turn off your VPN software or disable extensions that route your traffic through VPNs.
• Add Grounded 2 to your antivirus or firewall’s exception list — usually in security software’s settings.
• Test multiplayer again to see if it’s better now.

What causes multiplayer issues in Grounded 2?

• Account login bugs — your Xbox or Microsoft account might not be recognized properly, messing with online login.
• NAT restrictions, especially with strict router settings, that block peer-to-peer connections.
• Crossplay or Xbox Live services not enabled or having hiccups, which can keep invites or sessions from working.
• Corrupted or broken shared world saves, often after crashes or network interruptions.
• Server issues or overloads — sometimes the game servers just can’t handle everyone trying to connect at once.

Wrap-up

Most multiplayer woes in Grounded 2 come down to account glitches, NAT settings, crossplay being off, or busted saved worlds. Going through these fixes one by one often clears things up and gets multiplayer running again. If all else fails, reaching out to Obsidian support or flicking bug reports on their forums might be needed — they do track these problems pretty actively. Oh, and if the game crashes on launch, check our guide for fixing those crashing issues too.

FAQs