An Electronic Arts Community Manager has confirmed that Battlefield 2042 Specialist Emma "Sundance" Rosier is officially the franchise's first-ever non-binary character. Battlefield 2042 will launch with 10 Specialists, individuals who denote a marked evolution of the brand's usual class system. Each of the nearly one dozen characters boasts a unique gadget and trait, which should hopefully make choosing a favorite hero slightly easier.
Sundance, in particular, is an Assault class Specialist, whose preferred gadget constitutes Smart Explosives. Meanwhile, their special trait revolves around the wingsuit that's featured across many of Battlefield 2042's marketing materials. While Sundance's wingsuit will allow players to navigate great distances in the air, someone like Navin Rao, a Recon class hero, comes with tools that favor hacking, courtesy of the Cyber Warfare Suite gadget and Trojan Network trait.
In response to fan inquiries, Adam Freeman, Lead Community Manager at EA Studios Europe, confirmed Battlefield 2042 Specialist Sundance is a non-binary character - the franchise's first, in fact. PC Gamer notes that Sundance's character page on the EA website refers to them in the gender-neutral they/them pronouns. Hopefully, this same attention to detail is similarly reflected in-game upon its release in a few short weeks. Freeman's confirmation regarding Sundance's gender identity is as follows:
As the first non-binary character in Battlefield's nearly 20-year history, Sundance marks an impressive next step for the series. But given the lack of a campaign mode in Battlefield, there is no telling how exactly the Specialist's background and identity may be explored beyond the above tweet and character bio on EA.com.
Battlefield counts as only one of EA's popular shooters to welcome LGBTQ heroes on the roster. In many respect, developer Respawn Entertainment has led the charge with Apex Legends characters such as Bloodhound and Gibraltar, the former of whom identifies as non-binary while the latter is gay. Respawn confirmed these details shortly after the free-to-play shooter went live on consoles and PC in February 2019. In the two-plus years since then, several other LGBTQ Legends have joined the every-expanding roster. Valkyrie, for example, is a lesbian hero. Respawn writer Tom Casiello divulged in a Twitter post last year that Loba identifies as bisexual.
Battlefield 2042 launches for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S platforms this fall on November 19.
Source: Adam Freeman/Twitter via PC Gamer