EA and Respawn just made major news when they confirmed that two of the characters from the popular title Apex Legends were openly gay or bisexual. Given the game’s status and following, this marks a big milestone in representation within mainstream gaming.
Apex Legends Makes Waves
EA’s official bio page for the Legends specifically notes the sexuality of Gibraltar, one of eight characters you can play as in Respawn’s just-released battle royale. He is revealed to have once gone on a joyride with when he and “his boyfriend stole his father’s motorcycle,” making him an openly gay or bisexual protagonist a launch, a rarity in the medium. The LGBTQ representation doesn’t stop there. As revealed by Jay Frechette, community manager at Respawn, during an interview with RPS is the fact that there is a second Apex Legends LGBTQ character, with Frechette confirming to reporter Nic Rueben that, “Bloodhound is non-binary, or at least non-specified, in terms of gender.”
More Representation From Blizzard
In January Blizzard, in a comic, confirmed that the Overwatch character Soldier 76 is gay. Overwatch is another massively popular game, helping to increase the overall profile of LGBTQ characters in games.
Are you a gamer? How do you feel about the state of representation in games currently?