Bungie is one of those companies that care about LGBTQ+ themes, especially because some of its employees grew up without proper representation of queer characters in video games. That's why Destiny 2 – and by extension, the original Destiny as well – are made to be inclusive and offer plenty of great characters for players to identify with and care about. Some of Destiny and Destiny 2's most iconic characters happen to be queer, and apart from their respective lore entries, it would be hard to notice because they are first and foremost characters in a complex universe where gender identity and sexuality are not something people dwell on.
Destiny 2 in particular makes an effort to be a game where LGBTQ+ themes are there in subtle ways so that players willing to dig deep down into the lore will find pleasant surprises along the way. This is something that Destiny 2 does very well, and it also tries to tear down barriers between races, as the Guardians have found new allies in the Cabal and the Eliksni. Maybe this will soon include the Hive as well, once The Witch Queen expansion launches and Savathun's true intentions will finally be made clear.
RELATED: Borderlands 3 Offers Representation That May Have Flown Under the Radar
This might surprise many fans, but Oryx is canonically transgender. Born a female, daughter of the Osmium King, Aurash and her sisters (Sathona and Xi Ro) survived treason and fled the Osmium Court only to eventually dive deep into the Fundament Ocean. Here they met the Leviathan first, a disciple of the Traveler who advised them not to pursue the Darkness, and then the Worm Gods that fed on Darkness itself and offered them a pact of immortality. The three sisters accepted, and Aurash became Auryx by taking the king morph, and then much later turned into Oryx after killing the Worm God known as Akka.
Not as major a character as Oryx, Micah-10 is also transgender. She was born a boy on Europa, a child of two fathers who had connections to Clovis Bray and the Exo program. Eventually, all three of them were turned into Exo likely because they knew too much, and Micah Abram became Micah-10, the "den-mother" of Guardian-less Ghosts during the City Age. Micah-10 is mostly known because of the penguins that players can find on Europa, and because she was one of the protectors of a village called Coyote, hence why there is an Exotic called The Sixth Coyote.
The legendary Warlock Osiris is a very important NPC in the world of Destiny 2, as he was at the very core of the past two Seasons and the current one. Considered one of the most powerful Guardians to ever live, at least before he lost his Light when Sagira died, Osiris was officially revealed to be in a romance with another major NPC: Saint-14. The fact that the two are gay and a couple is very wholesome.
Again, this legendary Titan is Osiris' partner, and sometimes calls him "his fiery phoenix." Saint-14 also got a lot of screen time during the Season of the Splicer, where both his brutal side in battle and his softer side when it comes to allies and Osiris were highlighted. The Titan is clearly very fond of his partner, and always takes Osiris' advice very seriously.
The Queen of the Reef and sister to the late Uldren Sov, Mara Sov is known to have been in a relationship with the first Queen's Wrath Sjur Eido. Mara was never known to be in love with anyone else and is considered to be lesbian, or at least bisexual because of her strange relationship with Shaxx. The Queen is likely one of the few characters in Destiny 2 to be extremely powerful and possibly immune to Savathun's manipulations because of her iron will and set of logic to generate power in the universe.
RELATED: Destiny 2: Bungie Could Use Warmind Cells to Make Gambit More Fun
Anastasia Bray, also known as Ana, is another major character in the events of the franchise. She was the main NPC in the Warmind DLC and the Beyond Light expansion, also playing a big role in some Seasons. Ana has a special connection with Rasputin, the Warmind, as she was the one who taught him independent thought. Prior to finding Rasputin again in Destiny 2, Ana bonded with Camrin Dumuzi, and the two started a relationship that lasted years. Ana was devastated when she had to put her girlfriend in stasis to prevent her from dying over her wounds, and she still visits her.
Devrim Kay is one of the very first major NPCs that Destiny 2 players got to know back when the game was released, and he can still be found on Earth in the EDZ. This British gentleman can be found talking about how Marc should send him some good tea from home, and how he misses his embrace. Devrim and Marc are a happily married couple and have an adoptive daughter, bringing some joy in the otherwise quite bleak EDZ.
Like Devrim, Suraya Hawthorne is another character that had a role in the events of the Red War on Destiny 2's launch. She is at least considered to be bisexual, as she seems to be attracted to both men and women, as lore tabs indicate, and also some in-game dialogue lines.
Many Destiny 2 players may know the name of this Warlock because of the Exotic hand cannon, Eriana's Vow. Eriana-3 was in a relationship with the Titan Wei Ning, who was slain by Crota during The Great Disaster on the Moon. The Warlock swore vengeance against Crota and assembled a fireteam to go and kill him, but unfortunately died in the process, and the only one to survive from that expedition was Eris Morn.
The major antagonist of the Beyond Light campaign, Eramis is a bittered Eliksni who survived the Whirlwind back when the Traveler left her homeworld and took the Light away from her people. Back then, Eramis had a partner called Arthys, and according to Variks they had many hatchlings together. This doesn't only confirm that Eramis is lesbian, but also that the Eliksni are capable of having children with same-sex intercourse.
There are many other LGBTQ+ characters in Destiny 2, starting with a few unnamed Awoken identifying as non-binary. Then, Maya Sundaresh and her wife, Chioma Esi; the two were members of the Ishtar Collective on Venus. Lastly, Jolyon and the late Uldren Sov (now Crow) were probably intimate, making them either gay, bisexual, or pansexual.
Destiny 2 is available now on PC, PS4, PS5, Stadia, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
MORE: Destiny 2: Savathun's Leaked Witch Queen Image, and the Meaning of Her Ghost
