Over the last several years, developers across the gaming world have been diversifying their casts of characters to more accurately reflect their player bases. Each of these characters have distinct personalities, traits, and interests to capture imaginations, support engaging gameplay, and reflect different communities.

Apex Legends is one of these games. One of its strongest points is its characters, all of whom are interesting, diverse, and unique. “Our studio is comprised of a diverse group of people, the playerbase of battle royale is comprised of a diverse group,” Respawn Entertainment community manager Jay Frechette told Rock, Paper, Shotgun in February 2019. “Having a diverse cast is super important. You want everyone to have someone they can connect to.”

Since the game’s release, Respawn has taken the time to expand on its characters’ backstories, including their pasts, families, sexual orientations, and gender identities. Here are all of the LGBTQ and gender-nonconforming characters in Apex Legends.

Bloodhound

In the same Rock, Paper, Shotgun article as the one containing the above quote, Frechette said that “Bloodhound is non-binary, or at least non-specified, in terms of gender.” Indeed, both players and Respawn have consistently referred to Bloodhound with they/them pronouns. They are one of the only nonbinary or gender-nonconforming playable characters in AAA games at the moment, bringing a new angle of representation and vision to the battle royale genre and FPS titles as a whole.

Gibraltar

Gibraltar’s biography on the official Apex website reveals that prior to the events of the game, he had a boyfriend with whom he stole his father’s motorcycle. When the two of them became trapped in a mudslide and his father had to rescue them, he finally came to “understand the value of protecting others.” It’s a touching moment that both adds to his character and expands his appeal.

Fuse

The Apex Games’ most explosive hero was confirmed as pansexual earlier this year. In response to a fan question, Respawn writer Sam Gill said on Twitter that Fuse is indeed pan. Being described as a “ladies’ man, man’s man, and all-around manly man” preemptively led many fans to that conclusion, but it’s always good to get official word from the developers.

Valkyrie

Valkyrie was just added to the game a season ago, but she’s already become one of its most popular characters. In an interview with Erika Ishii, Valkyrie’s voice actress, it was revealed that Valkyrie is a lesbian. Valkyrie also has an intro line in the game where she proclaims, “I like my women like I like my sake – cool, unfiltered, and on someone else’s tab.”

Loba

While Loba’s sexuality isn’t explicitly discussed in the game or in her official biography, Respawn senior writer Tom Casiello said she’s bisexual in a tweet last year. One of her voice lines also says that she’s a heartbreaker regardless of gender. Hopefully we’ll see more of this side of her in voice lines to come.

Seer

Apex’s newest legend has been shaking things up in more ways than one. Shortly after his release, lead writer Amanda Doiron responded to a fan’s comments on Twitter by sharing that “Seer sees to the heart of people and doesn’t limit himself to a specific gender.” Right now, it appears as though Respawn is choosing to not label Seer’s orientation.

While other characters’ sexual orientations and gender identities have been hinted at by the developers and the game’s lore, these are the characters that have been specifically named by Respawn. We’re looking forward to seeing the next characters the devs come up with for Apex.

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Source: https://dotesports.com/apex-legends/news/who-are-apex-legends-lgbtq-characters