Call of Duty, a first-person shooter video game, has finally tapped a Filipino operator playable both in Vanguard and Warzone.
Meet Isabella Reyes
Three new operators were added to the game as part of COD Vanguard’s first season. Isabella Rosario Dulnuan Reyes is the newest member of the group. She was one of the characters in the Wild Rose Operator Bundle, which was released on January 14, 2022.
Isabella is a member of Task Force Trident and is a close-range specialist. She was created by Filipina Belinda Garcia, a story designer for Call of Duty: Vanguard, who gave her more than just a name and a nationality.
Isabella Rosario Dulnuan Reyes arrived this week in #Vanguard and #Warzone, a Filipina operator I had the absolute honor of helping create. It meant so much to me to bring my culture to @CallofDuty. ??
? I wrote this cinematic that I love dearly, and wanna talk about it… pic.twitter.com/iDHu7IHTVo
— Belinda Garcia (@bbcgarcia) January 15, 2022
According to COD’s website, Isabella was born in 1923 in the Philippines. Her father, who served in the 57th Infantry Regiment of the United States Army, was the one who taught her Arnis and hand-to-hand combat. Her father was captured during the Battle of Bataan and died on the Death March during World War II.
The 19-year-old took refuge in the Caraballo Mountains, where she joined the Hukbalahap in order to avenge her father’s death and fight the Japanese. Carver Butcher and the SOE later recruited her to join Task Force Trident, and she participated in Operation Vulcan at Caldera.
The character of Isabella is voiced by Filipino-American Jenn Wong. Isabella has two Filipino skins. ‘Puno’ is the name of her rare skin, and ‘Espada’ is the name of her legendary skin. Her mastery of Arnis may also be seen in her customizing options.
For Pinoy gamers searching for representation in their favorite game, seeing someone like Isabella in it is a welcome treat. Given that Call of Duty has traditionally been a game with a white protagonist, having a Pinay playable character is a welcome change.
Watch Isabella Reyes’ Vanguard introduction video here:
Source: https://www.callofduty.com/content/atvi/callofduty/blog/web/en/home/2021/12/call-of-duty-vanguard-season-one-operators-task-force-trident.html
