A GAMES developer is poised to make waves by redressing the industry’s longstanding gender imbalance.

RedBedlam, based in Brighton, has revealed new character Athena, a gamer and sci-fi fan working at a medical scanning firm who finds herself transported into a 1990s first person ‘shoot-em-up’ from her teenage years.

Bedlam is adapted from a novel by Christopher Brookmyre but switches to a female lead for a fresh perspective on the ‘gameverse’.

Nick Witcher, marketing director at RedBedlam, said: “Choosing a strong, independent and modern female lead for this role not only means that we can help to address the woeful diversity situation amongst video game protagonists, but it also allows us to make the most of Christopher Brookmyre’s writing by drawing upon his acclaimed reputation for creating compelling female characters.”

Mr Brookmyre said: “The average first person shooter protagonist is a testosterone-addled sociopath with all the endearing charm of a cornered honey badger.

“Players of both sexes will identify with Athena, because first and foremost she is a gamer herself.”

Research by Entertainment Software Association has revealed that nearly half of gamers are women.

Bedlam will be made available for download on the Steam platform this summer.