Obsidian's backyard survival game Grounded is being made into a television series

(Image credit: Obsidian Entertainment)

Grounded, the game that gave rise to the phrase "asshole ants," is headed to the small screen—and yes, that is a pun, thank you. According to a Deadline report, the game is being adapted into a television series by Star Wars: Clone Wars writer Brent Friedman. Brien Goodrich, who previously served as cinematics director on Halo 4 and 5, is signed to direct the show.

It's not clear how closely the show will cleave to the game, but it will follow the same basic premise: Four friends end up accidentally shrunk to bug size and must learn how to survive in a backyard that's suddenly crawling with massive, deadly predators. But the real problem, apparently, is a "vast corporate conspiracy" that's threatening the entire town. (And that, I bet, has something to do with how the kids ended up tiny-sized in the first place.)

Of course, shrunken children isn't the most original premise ever—the "cornerstone" of Grounded, as Fraser said in his blood-soaked 2020 preview, is Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, the 1989 hit film starring Rick Moranis. And in fact that ended up being made into a television show too, called Honey, I Shrunk the Kids: The TV Show, which aired for three seasons from 1997-99.

Grounded comes at it from a different perspective—you're not watching, you're doing—and it's quite good, holding a "very positive" rating across more than 25,000 user reviews on Steam, although it remains to be seen whether it will translate that well to television.

"Grounded has caught the imagination of millions of people and we've learned that the biggest fans want even more of that world," game director Adam Brennecke said in a statement email to PC Gamer. "This partnership will allow us to give fans more Grounded while expanding the world that so many have come to love."

Ironically, while Grounded is enough of a hit to warrant a TV show, it's not technically released yet: That's not set to happen until September. For now, it remains in early access on Steam and the Microsoft Store.

Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.