Back in August we learned that 4J studios has no further plans to release Minecraft beyond the recent PlayStation 4 and Xbox One editions of the game. This news, coupled with the recent announcement of Mojang being acquired by Microsoft has extinguished any hope of the title ever seeing the light of day on the Wii U. Despite all this negative news about Minecraft, indie developers Nexis Games and Finger Gun Games have taken it upon themselves to offer Nintendo fans their own take on Mojang's formula.

U Craft, developed by Nexis Games, is an open world game in which players can "harness the power to create items, artwork, construct overwhelming structures and other compelling creations using a variety of blocks discovered when exploring across the vast land of U Craft!" Nexis Games has promised the game will feature off-TV play and that the GamePad screen will be used to manage your inventory and creative tools. The developer has said that more information on the title will be made available soon. U Craft is currently slated for a holiday 2014 release.

Stone Shire, developed by Finger Gun Games, is described by the developer as "inspired by Minecraft, Dwarf Fortress, and DnD(sic)." The game features a few unique elements including multiple fantasy races, each with their own unique abilities, and plans for character customization. Finger Gun Games is also promising online and local multiplayer and the ability to take screenshots. The game, much like Minecraft, will receive post launch content and patches. The developer has said that each of these updates, save for significant downloadable content, will be made available for free. Stone Shire is still very early in development, so no release window has been announced. The game is currently a Wii U exclusive, but a 3DS version may happen if the Wii U's launch is successful.

How do you all feel about these games? Are you happy about them or would you rather see Minecraft on the Wii U? Let us know below and check back often from the latest on both titles.