The month of June is for Pride, and that's as true for video games as it is for other parts of the media. So how inclusive is our favorite battle royale?
'Tis the month of Pride, and here at EarlyGame, we wanted to take a deep-dive into the biggest games we cover and check up on the LGTBQIA2S+ representation (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Questioning, Intersex, Asexual and Two-Spirit). While some games do a very poor job of inclusivity, we're happy to confirm that Apex Legends is not one of them. There are 6 confirmed members of the LGTBQIA2S+ community in Apex, and a further 2 who are heavily implied as being so. That's 8 out of 21 characters, so about 38%. Not bad, huh? Anyway, let's check out the representation in Apex!
Bangalore: Lesbian (Suggested In Trailers)
Bangalore is the one we're least certain about, and we were in two minds about including her, but the romantic tenderness between Bangalore and Loba has been suggested to us so many times in the various snippets of lore. And more recently, Bangalore has always been just out of frame whenever we see Loba and Valkyrie together, which heavily implies a "third-wheel" angle to the relationship. But as we said, we could be wrong about this one.
Bloodhound: Non-Binary (Stated In Bio)
What's particularly impressive to see in Apex is that they've even included a non-binary character in the form of Bloodhound. This was one of the OG characters, and they're still massively popular in the current meta.
We know that Bloodhound is non-binary because they're described using non-gender-specific pronouns, and the lead writer has also confirmed that Bloodhound is non-binary.
Gibraltar: Gay (Stated In Bio)
Big Gibby is everyone's favorite chonker, he's always smiling and happy. But what you might not know is that Gibraltar has quite a tragic backstory, and he almost died in a motorcycle accident as a teenager. In the game's description of this event we're told about Gibraltar's boyfriend.
As the official bio reads:
However, he only began to understand the value of protecting others when he and his boyfriend stole his father’s motorcycle, took it on a joyride, and got trapped by a deadly mudslide.
Thank god he survived because the games wouldn't be the same without him.
Mirage: Questioning (Suggested By Dialogue)
Mirage is one of the funnest characters in Apex Legends, and fans were desperate to hear more about his backstory when he first appeared. Well, the devs didn't give us what we wanted immediately, but in a comic released during a later season, they revealed that Mirage was questioning his sexuality.
In the Season 6 comic, The First Ship, Mirage says:
Don’t you go using my already-standing-in-quicksand sexuality issues to confuse me.
It could just be Mirage being Mirage, but questioning seems like a pretty apt description based on that piece of dialogue.
Loba: Bisexual (Confirmed By Writers)
This one is barely worth mentioning. Loba clearly has love for anyone and everyone. And when you play as her, you'll quickly realize how much of her dialogue with the other characters is just shameless flirting. She's the best.
Okay, but being serious for a moment. We know that Loba is bisexual based on the relationships we see her in, and because the writers have straight up confirmed it:
Gibraltar is gay.
— Tom Casiello (@tommiecas) August 26, 2020
Loba is bisexual.
Bloodhound is non-binary...which isn't a sexual orientation, so we won't include that.
Wraith hears voices of multiple versions of herself. Also not a sexual orientation.
There are 14 Legends. 2 are confirmed LGBTQA+. So...half? https://t.co/IYiYeKcL7V
Loba is bisexual.
Doesn't get more certain than that.
Seer: Pansexual (Confirmed By Writers)
Based on Google search trends, a great many players seem to have assumed that Seer is gay, and they want to know who he's in a relationship with. But Seer isn't actually gay, he's pansexual. This isn't obvious in-game, and Seer is certainly a character we've received less lore about, but his sexuality has been confirmed by the writers themselves:
Nope. Seer sees to the heart of people and doesn't limit himself to a specific gender.
— Amanda Doiron (@AmandaDoiron11) July 29, 2021
Nope. Seer sees to the heart of people and doesn’t limit himself to a specific gender.
That description sounds weird when applied to Seer because his dialogue can come off as so cold. He certainly doesn't strike me as someone "seeing into the heart" of others, but who knows, maybe he's a complete romantic outside the games?
Fuse: Pansexual (Suggested By Dialogue)
Fuse is another character whose sexuality has caught the imagination of the fanbase. A lot of this comes from people wanting to ship Fuse with anyone besides Mad Maggie (who seems like his natural partner, but is also quite annoying, and did blow his leg off). So, what is Fuse's sexuality? Most fans turn to this line when trying to answer that question:
Ladies’ man, man’s man, and all-round manly man.
The intention behind that line isn't completely obvious, however, and it could mean many things. But writer Sam Gill has now confirmed that Fuse is in fact pansexual:
Absolutely! Fuse is pansexual :)
— Sam Gill (@SamEJGill) January 29, 2021
Valkyrie: Lesbian (Suggested By Dialogue)
Valkyrie and Loba's relationship is now appearing in damn-near every single bit of lore or new trailer we get. And that's amazing, especially for someone who mains Loba and plays with a Valkyrie main. They have so much unique dialogue between each other, and they seem so damn sweet together.
But this isn't just us being stans for their relationship, Valkyrie also confirms she's a lesbian through tons of voice lines like this:
I like my women like I like my sake – cool and on someone else’s tab.
Oh, Valkyrie. Never change.
Those were all the wonderfully representative characters in Apex Legends. But is it enough? Or would you like to see more LGTBQIA2S+ representation in Apex? Maybe the new Legend, Vantage, is one such character?