EVO 2022 came with an assortment of hype moments implicit the weekend, including the astir unthinkable “Cell Yell” I’ve heard since Dragon Ball FighterZ’s archetypal play successful 2018. Sprinkled passim the tourney were a fewer announcements, too, specified as the invited uncover of rollback netcode for much warring games. But possibly astir breathtaking was quality that classical combatant Bridget is the adjacent DLC quality coming to Guilty Gear Strive. What’s more, successful the time oregon truthful since, arcade mode footage revealed that Bridget has travel retired arsenic a trans girl. Talk astir a based W!

Bridget was archetypal introduced successful 2002's Guilty Gear XX, presenting arsenic a precise cute lad who instantly stole the hearts of fans. Though calved as one of 2 duplicate boys to a multi-billionaire couple, Bridget’s sex presumption was decidedly feminine contempt their usage of masculine pronouns. (Official reason: convoluted anime bullshit.) However, with Bridget’s authoritative instrumentality arsenic a playable quality successful Strive arsenic portion of the game’s $25 Season Pass 2, ArcSys has fixed them a “come out” infinitesimal wherever they denote they do, successful fact, place arsenic a girl.

An adept yo-yo user, Bridget’s dialogue successful Strive shows her becoming comfy successful expressing her trans identity, telling deuteragonist Ky Kisuke and U.S. Secretary of Defense (lol) Goldlewis Dickinson that, “[calling me] Cowgirl is fine. Because…I’m a girl!”

Yas, Queen, unrecorded your truth! We emotion to spot it. In fact, plentifulness of folks online celebrated the uncover with fan art and memes. Someone even created a mod for Bridget that sees them donning the blue, pink, and achromatic colors of the Trans pridefulness flag. It’s cool!

Kotaku has reached retired to Arc System Works for comment.

Not everyone was thrilled astir Bridget’s trans-ness, though, which shouldn’t travel arsenic a astonishment successful this space. Ready to disregard their individuality wholesale, determination are plentifulness of gross tweets decrying ArcSys giving america an existent trans quality successful Strive. While there’s immoderate nuance to the thought that the workplace could beryllium “erasing a character’s erstwhile identity,” as 1 tweeter enactment it, astir of the antagonistic sermon oscillating astir Bridget is framed arsenic bad-faith arguments implicit “grooming.”

The antagonistic effect toward Bridget’s coming retired is disconcerting to accidental the least. At a clip erstwhile the U.S. authorities is penning authorities aimed astatine attacking the queer experience, getting practice successful media—especially successful games—should beryllium seen arsenic a boon. It reassures folks successful our assemblage that it’s OK to beryllium who you are, and however you place is some accepted and loved. As a nonbinary idiosyncratic who sees a spot of themselves in the elegant “grim reaper” Testament, Strive’s archetypal enby character, I’m perfectly surviving for Bridget coming into her own.