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Battlefield 2042 Released Non-Binary Character For The First Time

By xsisted78 | October 26, 2021

Battlefield 2042’s playable specialists Emma “Sundance” Rosier, is non-binary, making the very first character recognized as such in EA’s long-running series. Sundance’s bio uses gender-neutral they/them pronouns on the shooter’s official website, which led one fan to ask on Twitter if they recognized as non-binary. Adam Freeman, EA’s Lead community manager confirmed in a reply, “Yep. Sundance is non-binary.”

Sundance is one of 10 specialists in Battlefield 2042 that you can pick to play within the game’s extensive maps. Their loadout comes with a wingsuit that lets you glide across stretches of land to address objectives and firefights. They also can toss a smart explosive that, once thrown, jets toward enemy vehicles to deal significant damage. Sundance wasn’t available in the recent beta, so their kit might assuage anyone who was previously unimpressed with the level of differentiation between the variety of characters.

Yep. Sundance is non-binary and uses the Pronouns They/Them.

— Freeman ?? (@PartWelsh) October 21, 2021

Battlefield 2042 lacks a traditional campaign mode, it’s unlikely Sundance’s gender identification, nor the fact that they’re also Black will have a significant impact on the game versus their combat abilities. Most players won’t know this about the character unless they specifically go looking for the details on the internet, which reinforces the ways in which identity is still usually an afterthought when it comes to games of this stature.

Apex Legends, EA’s other shooter game with its own distinct lineup, also omits this sort of info on its official materials. Bloodhound, Apex Legends’ sole non-binary character, has a bio page that does use ‘they’ pronouns to describe them but doesn’t unless shed light on this aspect of the character. EA often confirms these character traits via outside channels, either through social media or specifically to the press. Recently, Ubisoft made its first trans-Rainbow Six Siege character known in a more common manner via details in her bio.