Steve Is Meant to be an Ambiguous Character

It's been more than a decade since the popular sandbox game Minecraft released, and with its continued updates and consistent addition of new content, it's remained a favorite among gamers.

Despite being a well-loved game for years, there are still some basic questions players have -- like what race is Steve, the default skin for the player character?

There is no official race for Steve canonically, though it's been well-debated over the video game's lifespan. The human character has a somewhat light skin tone, but as this does not determine one's race, it isn't enough to draw a conclusion from.

As one Redditor pointed out, not knowing Steve's race is kind of the point.

"The point is for him to be somewhat neutral," user Tuckertcs wrote. "His skin could be considered white but it’s also kinda dark so he could pass as Mexican or some mix too. Also if this keeps you up at night you might need to find a new hobby or some other real political/social issue to worry about."

Though Steve was meant to be a decidedly neutral option to allow players to start the game on a blank slate, not every Minecraft player can feel represented by the Steve skin -- which is why in 2022 Mojang released new player skins.

Now, there are nine different starting player skins to select from, offering a range of skin tone and gender presentation options for Minecraft users to select on starting a new world. When diving into the game, players can select between Steve, Alex, Noor, Sunny, Ari, Zuri, Makena, Kai, and Efe for their starter skin without paying additional money for new ones (which was previously the only option).

"Minecraft is a space for everyone. Whoever you are, wherever you are, however you play – you are welcome in here..." the development team shared in a blog post. "But we want to keep working towards making Minecraft feel both welcoming and familiar. When you create your own stories across the Overworld, you get to shape them anyway you want. We’re here to give you the tools that you need to do this, and that includes more than just blocks and pickaxes."

In a somewhat contested decision, Minecraft will be getting an official live-action movie, and Jack Black (yes, who played Bowser in The Super Mario Bros. Movie) will take on the role of Steve. Though Jack is white, this does not confirm that Steve canonically is a white person, especially as live-action adaptations continuously take liberties with source materials.

Alongside Jack, Jason Momoa, Jennifer Coolidge, Kate McKinnon, Danielle Brooks, and Emma Myers will star alongside him in the movie. The first trailer of the upcoming film has released, as we've already seen Jack's groan-worthy opening monologue followed by Jason in a blond wig, promising that A Minecraft Movie will definitely be... a movie.