Minecraft hits Wii U on Dec. 17, includes six packs and GamePad play (update)

Minecraft hits Nintendo's Wii U on Dec. 17, Nintendo announced this morning.

Minecraft: Wii U Edition includes a number of add-on packs and will be available on the Nintendo eShop in North America for $29.99. Nintendo and Minecraft creator Mojang are also working together for new content for the Nintendo version of the game, according to today's press release. More details on that will be released at a later date.

The Wii U version of the game will support full play on the GamePad controller's screen and split-screen play on HDTVs. Up to four people can play in split-screen mode and up to eight online. The game will also include the following add-ons:

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

"With so many included add-on content packs, Minecraft: Wii U Edition brings an exciting collection of Minecraft content and experiences to Nintendo fans," Reggie Fils-Aime, Nintendo of America's president and COO, said in a prepared statement. "Wii U players will have plenty of reasons to keep coming back to this iconic gaming experience."

Alongside the launch of the game will be 16 additional add-on packs for Minecraft available for separate purchase.

• Festive Skin
• The Simpsons Skin
• Doctor Who Skins
• Doctor Who Skins
• Star Wars Classic Skins
• Star Wars Rebels Skins
• Star Wars Prequel Skins
• Mass Effect Mash-up
• Skyrim Mash-up
• Plastic Texture
• Candy Texture
• Cartoon Texture
• Steampunk Texture
• Pattern Texture
• Greek Mythology Mash-up
• Halloween 2015 Mash-up

More add-ons for the Wii U version are promised for the future.

Microsoft purchased Minecraft for $2.5 billion last year. A version of Minecraft has been used to demonstrate the ability of Microsoft's augmented reality headset, the HoloLens.

Update: Minecraft: Wii U Edition will be released on disc "at a later date," said Mojang's Kristoffer Jelbring on Twitter.