New Apex Legends character Catalyst is an out and proud transgender woman

Apex Legends Catalyst
(Image credit: EA)

An Apex Legends Stories from the Outlands trailer has revealed its newest Legend: Catalyst. Catalyst is a defensive hero who is the first transgender woman to enter the Apex games.

Respawn worked closely with both American NGO GLAAD and its transgender employees to ensure she respectfully represents the community. We spoke at length with Respawn, GLAAD, and Catalyst's voice actor Meli Grant, so expect more about that process in a story coming soon. Check out the trailer below, and read on for more details about Catalyst.

Catalyst's reveal trailer shows her talking with Rampart about what knowledge she can glean about the amped-up Legend from her crystals. Rampart asks Catalyst what the crystals say about her, and we're giving a flashback to a younger Catalyst with her coven of witchy friends - it's very much giving The Craft, and I love it.

The flashback shows Catalyst and her coven brainstorming on how to protect Cleo, the moon of Boreas, which is being mined by Hammond Robotics and is clearly in danger of being destroyed. While two of the coven members are reluctant to go any further, Catalyst gets roped into doing something slightly more dangerous with Margot (who's told by the other coven members she's "going too far"). During a moment of reflection before their mission, Catalyst speaks about her transition. "I feel like the whole world has opened up, now that I'm myself," she says.

The mission with Margot goes south, and the two women are separated, with Margot's fate unknown to Catalyst. The trailer ends with Catalyst saying that the crystals told her she had to come back to Boreas to help protect her true home. Yes, that's a new map they're hinting at. 

Apex Legends Eclipse launches on November 1 for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch, and.

No game does pride like Apex Legends.

Alyssa Mercante

Alyssa Mercante is an editor and features writer at GamesRadar based out of Brooklyn, NY. Prior to entering the industry, she got her Masters's degree in Modern and Contemporary Literature at Newcastle University with a dissertation focusing on contemporary indie games. She spends most of her time playing competitive shooters and in-depth RPGs and was recently on a PAX Panel about the best bars in video games. In her spare time Alyssa rescues cats, practices her Italian, and plays soccer.