Mojang and 4J Studios are set to launch a huge new update to Minecraft's various console versions.

Xbox 360, Xbox One, PlayStation 3/Vita and PS4 editions of the sandbox creation sim will get a raft of new features, animals, blocks and biomes.

The update was submitted to Microsoft and Sony for certification earlier this week and is due to go live shortly.

Notably, this will move the console versions to the newer enchanting system which requires Lapis Lazuli - so there's finally a use for collecting that.

New biomes include the mesa area, birch forest, savanna and deep ocean.

You'll be able to catch and cook rabbit, collect a whole new garden of flowers and fish for a variety of fresh marine animals.

The deep ocean biome also includes the recent PC addition of underwater dungeons, with its own enemies and Guardian boss.

When the update is released, Minecraft on console will be pretty much identical to the game on PC, minus only a couple of items (there's no grass paths in the update, for example).

By far, it will be the closest that console and PC versions have ever been in terms of feature parity.

This week also sees the launch of Minecraft on Wii U.