Apex Legends’ new hero adds a trans Legend to the roster

polygon.com:

The next Legend joining the cast of Apex Legends is Catalyst, a defensive terraformer and conjurer with “remarkable, almost magical, control over ferrofluid,” developer Respawn Entertainment announced Monday. She’ll join the game in November alongside the next major update to the game, called Apex Legends: Eclipse.

Catalyst — real name Tressa Smith — is trans, and one of many LGBTQ Apex Legends characters. She’s voiced by actor Meli Grant and, according to a report from GamesRadar, Respawn worked closely with consultants from GLAAD and the studio’s own trans employees in developing her. Apex Legends also features the non-binary Legend Bloodhound.

A new “Stories from the Outlands” animated video dives into Catalyst’s background, which shows her as part of a coven of friends who fight to protect Cleo — the moon of Tressa’s home planet Boreas — which is being mined by the Hammond Robotics corporation and threatening its stability. With the guidance of her friend Margot, Tressa becomes unwittingly involved in an eco-terrorist plot and conflict with Hammond in a setup for her joining the Apex Games.

The broken moon of Cleo appears to be the setting for a new map coming to Apex Legends next month. Respawn and EA promise more details in the lead up to Apex Legends: Eclipse, which arrives Nov. 1 on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.