Valkyrie. (Respawn)
Apex Legends will be celebrating Pride Month with a new rainbow badge.
The badge is available for free right now and is inspired by the Progress Pride Flag designed by Daniel Quasar. It can be equipped to show your support of the LGBT+ community in-game.
Respawn launched the badge with a video shared on Twitter.
“Pride is the opposite of shame: It’s about being proud of who you are. We stand with and support players of all sexualities and gender identities,” reads the tweet.
In celebration of Pride Month, we’ve granted all @playapex players a special Pride badge. Pride is the opposite of shame: It’s about being proud of who you are. We stand with and support players of all sexualities and gender identities. #PRIDE pic.twitter.com/NfsgY6dZEi
— Respawn (@Respawn) June 3, 2021
The video includes interviews with three queer developers at Respawn, discussing the development of the badge as well as their thoughts on Pride.
It also contains fan art of the queer characters in Apex Legends.
The badge follows the Black Lives Matter badge created last year to support the movement, as well as a #StopAsianHate badge.
“We make the game that we want to play, and by having diverse representation in our game we’re showing our players a world that is as diverse as the world really is,” says Annelie Fors, Operations Manager for Respawn Outsourcing Department.
Apex Legends has a number of queer characters, so it’s great to see Respawn continuing their support of the community.
Respawn takes great pride in its diverse cast of Legends. That includes Gibraltar who’s gay, Bloodhound who’s non-binary, Loba who’s bisexual, and Fuse who’s pansexual.
And, in the latest season update Legacy, new character Valkyrie has been introduced who is lesbian.
“It’s crucial also that these characters don’t feel tokenised,” says Mackenzie Galbraith, Associate Quality Designer on Apex Legends.
The sexuality of these characters is integral to their personality, but it’s also not what defines them.
The badge is available for Pride Month, but with Respawn’s reputation for long-term support of the community in Apex Legends, expect more queer characters and content in seasons to come.
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