Battlefield 2042 introduces non-binary character, a first for the series
Sundance, the first playable, non-binary character in the shooter’s history, is here.
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Emma “Sundance” Rosier, one of Battlefield 2042’s playable specialists, is non-binary, making them the very first character who identifies as such in EA’s long-running series. Sundance’s bio uses gender-neutral they/them pronouns on the shooter’s official website, which ledone fan to ask on Twitterif they identified as non-binary. Adam Freeman, EA’s Lead community managerconfirmed in a reply, “Yep. Sundance is non-binary.”
Sundance isone of 10 specialistsin the game that you can choose to play within the game’s massive maps. Their loadout includes a wingsuit that lets you glide across stretches of land to approach objectives and firefights. They also can toss a smart explosive that, once thrown, jets toward enemy vehicles to deal considerable damage. Sundance wasn’t available in the recent beta, so their unique kit might assuage anyone who was previously unimpressed withthe level of differentiation between the assortment of characters.
Yep. Sundance is non-binary and uses the Pronouns They/Them.October 21, 2021
Because Battlefield 2042 lacks a conventional campaign mode, it’s unlikely Sundance’s gender identity, nor the fact that they’re also Black, will have a major impact on the game versus their combat skills. My guess is that most players won’t know this about the character unless they specifically go looking for the information on the internet, which reinforces the ways in which identity is still often an afterthought when it comes to games of this stature.
Apex Legends, EA’s other shooter with its own diverse lineup, also omits this sort of info on its official materials. Bloodhound, Apex Legends' sole non-binary character, hasa bio pagethat does use ‘they’ pronouns to describe them, but doesn’t otherwise shed light on this aspect of the character. EAoften confirms these character traitsvia outside channels, either through social media or specifically to the press. Recently,Ubisoftmade its first trans Rainbow Six Siege character known ina more public mannerviadetails in her bio.
It’s a baby step for blockbuster shooters, but it’s an improvement over having an extensive cast of playable characters that lack any sort of imagination that reflects the many kinds of people that play these games. Battlefield 2042 is at least aware of this and doing something, however small, to represent them.
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Tyler has covered videogames and PC hardware for 15 years. He regularly spends time playing and reporting on games like Diablo 4, Elden Ring, Overwatch 2, and Final Fantasy 14. While his speciality is in action RPGs and MMOs, he’s driven to cover all sorts of games whether they’re broken, beautiful, or bizarre.
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