A new update for downsized survival game Grounded has been released, and if you're not a fan of having to sign into your Microsoft account when you play on Steam, this is the update for you.
Per the update's (admittedly small) patch notes, you'll no longer need to sign into your Microsoft account if you want to play Grounded's multiplayer modes with your friends.
If you're not logged into your Microsoft account, you can now host and join standard multiplayer sessions with other players who are already on your Steam friends list, so if you've been hoping to enjoy Grounded without your Microsoft account getting in the way, today's your lucky day.
There is one major caveat, though. If you want to play Grounded cross-platform, or you want to play on shared worlds or in Playgrounds, you're still going to need to sign into your Microsoft account.
As well as this change, Obsidian and Microsoft have also implemented a new switch that lets you toggle between a Crossplay State and a Steam Native State, and you'll need to be in the same state as your friends to see them online.
If you prefer, you can also unlink your Microsoft account from your Steam account completely via Grounded's Options menu; just navigate to Game, then Unlink Microsoft Account. Again, though, this will prevent you from accessing some of the game's features on Steam.
Naturally, if you're playing Grounded on Game Pass, you'll still need to use your Microsoft account to access it, so there haven't been any changes on that front.
This change comes in the wake of the controversy surrounding Sony requiring a sign-in to a PlayStation account in order to play its games on PC, with Helldivers 2 coming in for particularly vicious criticism over this decision.
Eventually, Sony walked the change back, and the fact that both Helldivers 2 and Grounded don't require external accounts will probably set tongues wagging the next time a Sony game hits the PC.
In any case, Grounded is available right now across PC, PlayStation, Xbox, and Nintendo Switch.
