Emma “Sundance” Rosier, one of Battlefield 2042’s playable specialists, is non-binary, making them the very first character who identifies as such in EA’s long-running series. Sundance’s bio uses gender-neutral they/them pronouns on the shooter’s official website, which led one fan to ask on Twitter if they identified as non-binary. Adam Freeman, EA’s Lead community manager confirmed in a reply, "Yep. Sundance is non-binary."
Sundance is the level of differentiation between the assortment of characters.
Yep. Sundance is non-binary and uses the Pronouns They/Them.October 21, 2021
Because Battlefield 2042 lacks a conventional campaign mode, it’s unlikely Sundance's gender identity, nor the fact that they’re also Black, will have a major impact on the game versus their combat skills. My guess is that most players won't know this about the character unless they specifically go looking for the information on the internet, which reinforces the ways in which identity is still often an afterthought when it comes to games of this stature.
Apex Legends, EA’s other shooter with its own diverse lineup, also omits this sort of info on its official materials. Bloodhound, Apex Legends' sole non-binary character, has a more public manner via details in her bio.
It’s a baby step for blockbuster shooters, but it’s an improvement over having an extensive cast of playable characters that lack any sort of imagination that reflects the many kinds of people that play these games. Battlefield 2042 is at least aware of this and doing something, however small, to represent them.
