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Popular multiplayer Apex Legends sends crystal-clear message to haters while cementing queer status

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Apex Legends, the free-to-play battle royale game from Respawn Entertainment, has been scoring major wins in the LGBTQ representation department. And the game’s lead writer has a message for any haters: Don’t like it? Then leave.

Respawn places a great deal of emphasis on character development in its Apex Legends universe, and the company has gone above and beyond to make the stories diverse.

Related: League of Legends unveils first Black queer hero in epic monster-slaying trailer

Two characters — Fuse, a male explosives expert, and Bloodhound, a nonbinary hunter — just took their friendship to a whole new level with a make-out session that’s sure to be explored further down the line.

The kiss comes at the end of this clip Apex tweeted over the weekend:

Last month, the game also confirmed that Catalyst, one of its newest Legends, is transgender.

In Catalyst’s official trailer, we learned that she and her coven, led by another young woman named Margo, want to save their dying planet of Cleo.

Related: Fans rejoice at the return of this bisexual bat-babe’s bubble butt

Then comes this heartwarming exchange between the two characters:

Catalyst: I feel like the whole world has opened up, now that I’m myself.

Margo: You’re much stronger than you realize — you’ve already been through so much.

Catalyst: Transitioning…that was sorta hard.

Margo: But look at you now! You’ll go on to do great things.

The conversation comes at the 1:57 mark:

In an interview with The Sun, lead writer Ashley Reed explained why her team felt it was important to be so direct about how Catalyst identifies in the trailer:

“If you’re not upfront about it, people are gonna find ways to deny it.” Reed said. “They’re gonna say, ‘That’s not what you meant.’ We have seen that with some of our other characters who identify a certain way. We’ve seen people say, ‘Oh, no, that’s not what they meant.’ Even when we come out and say, ‘That is what we meant.’”

Related: Twitter users are just discovering the coming out story of this beloved Pokémon

“We’re surrounded by a bunch of very diverse people in our own lives, so it would only make sense that the future would reflect that, and this cast would reflect that because they’re from all over this future place.” Reed added.

And she didn’t mince words when considering the possibilities that some players haters might object. In fact, she offered a simple solution:

“So it’s kind of inescapable and that if you have a problem with that, Apex isn’t for you.”

Queer fans and allies are celebrating the new character:

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