Since they were first announced, Mojang has been hesitant to provide a release date for the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation Vita versions of Minecraft. And while it still hasn't given us anything exact, the developer now says the sandbox building game will be out on the two systems during the second or third quarter of this year, placing its release somewhere between now and the end of September.

Mojang shared this release window in the comments of a recent PlayStation Blog post (via CVG) about the retail PS3 version of Minecraft coming on May 16.

In another comment, Mojang's Owen Hill described the Vita version as being "closer to the console versions," as opposed to the more limited Pocket Edition available on mobile systems. In response to a question about the ability to transfer Minecraft saves from the PS3 version, Hill said, "You should be able to bring your PS3 save to PS4."

As for whether owners of the PS3 version will have to pay again for access on the PS4 or Vita, he said, "We’re in the process of finalising cross-buy/upgrade/DLC things. More news soon."

Minecraft was announced for the PS4, PS3, and Vita last August. It was released on the PS3 in December, with the other two versions--along with the Xbox One version--expected to be released sometime this year.