The forthcoming first-person shooter Battlefield 2042 is shaking up the franchise with the introduction of four new specialists, including a Black, nonbinary playable character named Emma “Sundance” Rosier.
News of Sundance’s identity broke on Twitter after Electronic Arts Dice community manager Kevin Johnson posted a brief description of the character while using they/them pronouns. The word choice prompted a fan to ask: “Is Sundance nb? this is like the 3rd time I’ve seen they pronouns.”
EA Studios lead community manager Adam Freeman quickly confirmed the speculation “Yep,” Freeman said. “Sundance is non-binary and uses the Pronouns They/Them.”
Sundance will be an assault specialist who uses smart explosives to destroy enemy aircraft. According to Johnson’s brief character description, they were born in France and will use a wingsuit “for fast entry on objectives and tactical situations.”
The popular Battlefield series has slowly been growing more diverse in recent years. In 2018, the decision to include women in Battlefield V’s World War II combat prompted backlash from misogynistic fans, to which a high-level EA executive responded: “Well, you have two choices: either accept it or don’t buy the game.”
First-person shooters have also become marginally more LGBTQ+ inclusive. The popular battle royale game Apex Legends features several queer characters and Ubisoft’s Rainbow Six Siege introduced its first gay operator earlier this year.
The premise of Battlefield 2042 — the long-awaited follow-up to Battlefield V — is a shadow war between the United States and Russia that results from a food and fuel shortage. “To maintain plausible deniability, both sides field No-Pat Task forces as proxies in escalating conflicts over resources — promising the refugees a piece of what’s left,” EA’s website describes.
In addition to Sundance, Battlefield 2042 will also introduce players of several varying nationalities: Navin Rao from India, Santiago “Dozer” Espinoza from Mexico, Ji-Soo Paik from South Korea, and Constantin “Angel” Anghel from Romania.
Battlefield 2042 will be available on November 19.
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