After announcing that their free-to-play MOBA title DOTA 2 would be continuing the celebration of the Christmas season with Frostivus, the game's wintry celebration of gift-giving and wreath-crafting, Valve has once again cancelled this year's Frostivus event before it's even begun.

The news will come like a sack of coal for Christmas, as the official teaser website states that "By decree of the only king that matters, Frostivus is cancelled." Last year, Valve's season-themed update was also cancelled, though it was replaced by another event, The Greeviling, so it looks like we've got a running gag now.

Following yesterday's update where Valve added in the much sought-after ranked matchmacking system, players also noticed that Skeleton King was removed from the game due to "pressing ceremonial reasons." IGN reports that the character's icon was also removed from the top of the Frostivus page. While he may be missing in-game, he does still appear in the Hero Library within DOTA 2, though is not selectable during both hero selection and armoury customisation.

Rumours are swirling the Internet with many beleiving that this removal could be due to the Frostivus cancellation. IGN notes that the "only king that matters" may be hinting at the long-awaited release of the Wraith King, a character whom many suspected would appear at last year's previous Diretide event as a boss.

Other rumours suggest that maybe Skeleton King will be replaced by Wraith King as the "true" king of DOTA 2. Perhaps we'll learn more come tomorrow as Valve ticks over to Day 3 of the holiday event, hopefully giving us an indication of what new features we may find in this year's Diretide event.