Battlefield 2042 is the first game in the series to feature a non-binary character

Sundance, the first non-binary playable character in the shooter's history, is now available.

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Emma "Sundance" Rosier, a playable specialist in Battlefield 2042, is non-binary, making her the first non-binary character in EA's long-running series.

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Sundance's official website employs gender-neutral they/them pronouns in their bio, prompting a fan to query on Twitter if they identify as non-binary. In a response, Adam Freeman, EA's Lead Community Manager, acknowledged, "Yep. Sundance is non-binary."

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Sundance is one of ten specialists available in the game, all of whom may be played on the game's huge battlefields. A wingsuit is part of their loadout, allowing them to glide across vast lengths of terrain to approach objectives and firefights. They can also throw a smart bomb that, once launched, rockets toward hostile vehicles, causing significant damage.

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Sundance wasn't in the recent beta, so their distinctive equipment might soothe anyone who was underwhelmed by the level of differentiation amongst the various characters.

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Because Battlefield 2042 lacks a traditional campaign mode, Sundance's gender identity, as well as the fact that they're Black, are unlikely to have a significant impact on the game vs their fighting abilities.

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Most players are unlikely to know this about the character unless they deliberately go hunting for it on the internet, reinforcing the ways in which identification is still an afterthought in games of this magnitude.

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Apex Legends, EA's other shooter featuring a diverse roster, omits this kind of information from its promotional materials as well. Bloodhound, Apex Legends' only non-binary character, has a profile page that uses 'they' pronouns to describe them but doesn't go into detail about this element of their personality. EA frequently confirms these personality traits through external channels, such as social media or the news.

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