It's safe to say that plenty of gamers enjoy Minecraft every day, and a fair portion of these gamers are females. With massive turnouts at conventions, and public school systems employing the creative block-based builder, it's no surprise that Mojang released a female skin variant on PC to more accurately represent their fanbase. Several months later, that Minecraft skin is finally making her way to consoles so that non-computer gamers can enjoy the option of game-based gender equity as well.

PC gamers have been able to play as Alex, the female alternative to Steve, ever since the Bountiful 1.8 Update last year. The move was popular with players who wanted the ability to portray a more feminine look, and most assumed it was a matter of when, not if, the skin would be offered on consoles as well. Calling it a 'no brainer', Mojang announced today that the female skin pack will release this week across all platforms.

Back when the original creator of the game, Markus 'Notch' Persson, was more involved, he stated that there were no genders in Minecraft, as everyone was simply a 'human being' without gender. While this answer satisfied some, it was still off-putting for those confused as to why only someone with stubble named 'Steve' could explore the wonderful worlds of Minecraft. Whilst plenty of fans generated female-based skins for Steve (and some are offered on consoles as well), it's nice to see more gender equality in the game.

In the official announcement, Mojang's own Owen Hill explained that the inclusion of the character was, indeed, to more accurately represent their fans:

"Steve doesn’t really represent the diversity of our playerbase. For that reason, we’re giving all players opportunity to play with an Alex skin instead. She brings thinner arms, redder hair, and a ponytail."

It looks like the Alex Skin pack will give gamers plenty of choices, with the added bonus that the skins represent multiple diversities as well, much like the recent iOS Emoji update. It's nice to see the company release this DLC pack at no cost, allowing plenty of fans to hop in and check out the skins with ease.

The Alex skin will become available in a free download this Wednesday for all consoles. The Simpsons DLC will also finally become available to fans on PlayStation consoles, after a period of Xbox exclusivity.

Source: Mojang