Minecraft Wii U Confirmed, Coming Very Soon

[UPDATE] Nintendo has now released more images of Minecraft for Wii U and detailed the DLC it comes with and what will be available to buy at launch.

Minecraft for Wii U comes with:

• Battle & Beasts Skin Pack
• Battle & Beasts 2 Skin Pack
• Natural Texture Pack
• City Texture Pack
• Fantasy Texture Pack
• Festive Mash-up Pack

You'll also be able to buy these 16 add-ons:

1. Festive Skin Pack
2. The Simpsons Skin Pack
3. Doctor Who Skins Volume 1
4. Doctor Who Skins Volume 2
5. Star Wars Classic Skin Pack
6. Star Wars Rebels Skin Pack
7. Star Wars Prequel Skin Pack
8. Mass Effect Mash-up Pack
9. Skyrim Mash-up Pack
10. Plastic Texture Pack
11. Candy Texture Pack
12. Cartoon Texture Pack
13. Steampunk Texture Pack
14. Pattern Texture Pack
15. Greek Mythology Mash-up Pack
16. Halloween 2015 Mash-up Pack

More will be added in the future.

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The original story is below.

Despite initial suggestions that it might never happen, Minecraft is finally coming to Wii U.

Nintendo and Mojang announced today that the massively successful openended sandbox game will arrive through the eShop on December 17 for $30. A physical version of the game has not been announced.

"That's a surprise, eh?" Mojang said on its website.

Minecraft for Wii U comes bundled with six of the "most popular" add-ons, as well as a "festive mash-up" themed around the holidays. You can also expect even more expansions (and free updates) later on.

"We'll be adding more content packs to Wii U Edition in the near future (Wa-hoo!), and updating the core game with free updates, just like our other platforms," Mojang added. "As a quick reminder: all DLC packs are optional. You can have significant amounts of fun playing Minecraft without spending extra cash."

Mojang also confirmed that Minecraft for Wii U supports off-TV play via the GamePad. More details about the Wii U version will be announced in the lead-up to its release on December 17.

Back in March 2013, Mojang developer Jens Bergensten said a version of Minecraft for Wii U would be "very unlikely."

Microsoft paid $2.5 billion to buy Minecraft and Mojang in September 2014. The Xbox company has continued to support Minecraft for non-Xbox consoles, this confirmation of a Wii U edition being just the latest example of that. The game franchise has been a top-performer in Microsoft's gaming division, consistently helping boost revenue for the company on a quarterly basis.

Today's announcement of a Wii U version is not altogether surprising, as a ratings board listed the title back in November. Another Minecraft game, Telltale's Story Mode, is also coming to Wii U.

Minecraft is already available on consoles like the Xbox One, Xbox 360, PlayStation 4, and PlayStation 3. A PlayStation Vita version is also available, though there is no word on a 3DS iteration. Outside of traditional gaming platforms, there are versions of Minecraft available for smartphones and tablets, among other devices.