Dota 2’s Frostivus has arrived—but it’s far from the event many wanted for the holidays

Don’t call it a comeback quite yet, but Valve is rolling back the years to present to Frostivus festival for the first time since 2019. Unfortunately, Christmas cheer has been reserved for everything in the recent update, bar the event itself, leaving some to question the point of it all.

“Frostivus used to mean something. It wasn’t about your friends or your family or your feelings. It was about getting stuff,” reads the event page. “This year we’ve discovered the true meaning of Frostivus: Cosmetics.” And cosmetics they most certainly are bringing when the event starts Dec. 14 (running until Jan. 11), with no less than 10 all-new and returning item sets. Fan-favorite Gingerbread Baby Roshan is back alongside the truly delicious King Kringle costume for Wraith King—Arcana Unlock is included for good measure.

Unfortunately, all of these cosmetics come at a cost. Filling up the seasonal ‘Spirit Meter’ only earns you a festive chest; players must still pay for keys to unlock them. This leaves free event items at a concerning minimum, with sprays, stickers, and emoticons the highlights besides a rather intriguing ‘Naughty or Nice’ coin flip, which we will touch upon later.

This change from previous Frostivus outings did not go unnoticed and has received due criticism. “Oh boy. Chests you have to pay for, no new arcanas, no PvE, and a meh gameplay patch,” complained one user on X, in response to the event reveal on Dec. 14. “So worth the wait!” This might sound petty to those outside of the Dota scene, but truly the last event players could enjoy was similarly underwhelming Diretide 2022, which ended Jan. 12 earlier this year. It is very understandable why there would be upset over such a bare-bones offering with a larger, premium element. 

Compounding the misery is that the highly-anticipated, upcoming Arcana Event should currently be running but was delayed into 2024. Frostivus is a stop-gap, and that is glaringly apparent. Still, a large number of players have chosen to look on the bright side. The accompanying Patch 7.35 is receiving mighty praise on Reddit, as is the commitment from the developer to removing smurf accounts from the game. 

“At The International, some pro players reached out to us to talk about their smurf accounts. Those conversations have continued, and there’s broad agreement amongst pros that banning pro smurf accounts is a win for Dota as a community,” said Valve in its update post on Steam. Back in September, its stance was made very clear by the permanent ban of 90,000 smurf accounts. Anybody associated with those, or whichever ones remain, is receiving a literal Toxic Lump of Coal from King Kringle. All clean accounts get a gift box instead.

So, much like the holiday season itself, this update has its highs and lows. What remains clear to this writer is Valve’s commitment to its player base. An event, up to expectations or otherwise, is better than nothing.