Ever since its official release in 2011, "Minecraft' has been crawling to almost every platform available.
And now, game developer Mojang has announced that the popular sandbox game will finally arrive for Nintendo's Wii U.
According to an update on the studio's website, "Minecraft" for the Wii U will be available for purchase starting on December 17. The game will debut on Nintendo's eShop for $29.99. In addition, to keep Nintendo gamers updated in the world of "Minecraft," the company will also offer the same DLCs that first came out for the game's PC and console versions.
Gamespot noted that some of these content updates include skin, texture and mash-up packs featuring "Star Wars," "The Simpsons," "Doctor Who," "Mass Effect," "Skyrim" steampunk, Greek Mythology and Halloween.
But, Mojang assured fans that they are not required to purchase the DLCs to enjoy the game. Also, the studio said that it is currently working with Nintendo for the development of new and special content for "Minercraft" on the Wii U.
"We'll be adding more content packs to Wii U Edition in the future and updating the core game with free updates, just like our other platforms," Mojang stated. "As a quick reminder: all DLC packs are optional. You can have significant amounts of fun playing 'Minecraft' without spending extra cash."
Aside from the special content, one of the main features of the Nintendo console version of "Minecraft" is its off-TV play support. As its name suggests, this feature will let gamers continue enjoying the game even without a television set. Through the Wii U's Gamepad, gamers will be able to play a more portable-looking version of "Minecraft."
Although it may seem inevitable that "Minecraft" will come out for the Wii U, this isn't exactly what Mojang was thinking of in 2013. After debuting for the PC, "Minecraft" was released for the Xbox 360 through an exclusivity deal with Microsoft. At that time, it was not yet clear if the game will arrive for the PlayStation platform. But according to a Mojang designer, releasing a PlayStation version of "Minecraft" was more likely to happen than a Wii U edition.
"Microsoft has an exclusivity deal for consoles," Jens Bergensten of Mojang said according to Games Radar. "When it runs out we'll consider 'Minecraft' for PlayStation, but Wii U is very unlikely."
Fortunately, Mojang and its current owner Microsoft have started expanding the availability of the popular game. Aside from consoles, the game can also be played on mobile platforms.
