Minecraft characters: History of all protagonists and when they were added

In the popular game Minecraft, players have the option to select from a variety of characters to control. However, the sole distinction between these characters is their visual appearance. Since the release of the block-building game by Mojang Studios, it has provided a limited selection of basic character skins. While players are able to design and incorporate their own unique skins into the game, the default options have become iconic.

All of the character skins, along with their history and additional information, can be found here.

A Timeline of Official Minecraft Character Skins: From Classic to Current

The Legacy of Steve Jobs

Whenever people envision the iconic main character of Minecraft, they immediately think of Steve. This beloved character was created by Markus “Notch”Persson, the mastermind behind the game.

Steve has a goatee and blue eyes, and his dark brown hair is styled in a short cut. He is often seen wearing a light blue top, blue pants, and black shoes. Notch originally designed this character as a mob to appear in the early versions of Minecraft, but it eventually became the default skin for players as well during the game’s development.

Despite the common perception of Steve as a male character, Notch himself has declared that the concept of gender does not exist within the sandbox game.

As the original character in Minecraft, it can be confirmed that they were included in the game’s title in 2009 during its inception. Presently, Steve remains the default character and is utilized by a multitude of players. Throughout the years, their look has undergone numerous modifications in various forms.

The Life of Alex

Alex is the second character to be introduced to Minecraft and has become closely associated with the game. Despite this, Alex’s backstory is not as extensive as Steve’s.

Alex, who was added to the game on August 22, 2014 after it was acquired by Microsoft, has slim arms, ginger hair, and a ponytail. They also wear a green top, brown pants, and tall grey boots. The skin was eventually added to console and mobile versions at a later date.

Microsoft’s studio head, Helen Chiang, stated that one of the objectives for adding Alex to the game was to assist players in expressing their gender representation.

Despite Notch’s initial declaration that this character is genderless, Helen Chiang believed that adding different genders to the block game would allow players to better represent themselves. With Notch’s departure from the game company, many changes were made to the popular sandbox title. However, it should be noted that the genders of Steve and Alex still remain unconfirmed.

The Dream Team: Ari, Efe, Kai, Makena, Noor, Sunny and Zuri

For years, Steve and Alex were the sole default playable characters in the game. However, Mojang Studios finally expanded the options by adding seven new skins to the game.

In October 2022, the developers revealed the addition of seven new characters to the game: Noor, Sunny, Ari, Zuri, Makena, Kai, and Efe. Each of these characters had unique appearances and skin tones, reflecting Mojang Studios’ commitment to inclusivity and representation within their community. The Java Edition 1.19.3 update included these new characters for players to enjoy.