Gearbox goes into reverse, introduces female characters into Aliens: Colonial Marines

A victory for girl power, and indeed common sense.

Developer Gearbox has acted on the criticism it received earlier this summer and confirmed that playable female characters are to be introduced to 2013 release Aliens: Colonial Marines.

The exclusion of playable women was bizarre in itself, but the decision was all the more surprising considering the game’s heritage – Alien lead Ellen Ripley (played by Sigourney Weaver) is one of the strongest leads in recent cinema history.

"We realised some people were starting to feel bad – we exist to entertain people," Gearbox CEO Randy Pitchford told an audience at PAX, as reported by Eurogamer.

"I want everybody to be clear that there are playable females in both the mulitplayer and the campaign."

2012 has been a good year for the increasing awareness of female gamers and the modern role of females in society.

Although the core demographic of the established industry remains very much in the 15-30 year old male bracket, the increasingly broad catchment of gaming has seen non-traditional demographics penetrate further into core sectors.

Developers or publishers that fail to realise and act upon this will face not only increasingly criticism, but also a potential lack of market success.