"The Alliance" (L) battles "Natus Vincere" (R) during "The International" Dota 2 video game competition in Seattle, Washington August 11, 2013. Sixteen teams from 12 countries battled for some $2.9 million in prize money, wit
"The Alliance" (L) battles "Natus Vincere" (R) during "The International" Dota 2 video game competition in Seattle, Washington August 11, 2013. Sixteen teams from 12 countries battled for some $2.9 million in prize money, with Swedish team "The Alliance" claiming the top prize of $1.4 million after defeating Ukraine's "Natus Vincere" in a final watched by an audience of 1700 at Benaroya Hall and streamed live on the Internet. REUTERS

Fanatics of the game "Defence of the Ancients 2, or DOTA 2," will have to wait a little longer for the launching of the annual Christmas event "Frostivus," as developer Valve made official in its website that it is cancelling the event. This development comes as the game developers encountered a problem of similar weight that also prevented them from offering the Halloween event "Diretide" this year.

"Now that Frostivus is on the horizon, we find ourselves facing a similar choice and, after some thought, we believe that once again the right choice is to not develop a Frostivus game mode," Valve said in its website's official statement.

"Frostivus" was supposed to be the Christmas extravaganza of the massive online multi-player gaming sensation, which is similar to previous holiday event iterations such as the Greeviling in 2012 and Wraith Night in 2013. According to speculations identified by PC Gamers, the event would have given players greater chances for valuable item drops, which are usually the carrots in the stick during these events. Valve has already lost two holiday themed events this year mainly due to their concentration on developing a better game engine.

Valve has disclosed that it has aligned the launching of a new engine update by the first half of next year geared towards creating better matchmaking procedures, equipping the game with better ability to respond to game modes and the continued enhancement of the "DOTA 2' workshop tools alpha that was launched at beginning of the year. Nevertheless, the absence of a special event during the Yuletide season is a missed opportunity for Valve. Still, it is good to know that the developers are prioritizing the stability of the main game, which is the matchmaking modes rather than the special event game modes, which according to Valve, take up a large chuck of resources and manpower. In the meantime, players can look forward to next year when the new game engine launches which will free up the hands of the games makers to concentrate to holiday-themed events such as "Frosvitus."