Valve has removed one of the Dota 2 heroes ahead of a game event

The hero Axe is no longer available for selection in matchmaking and demo mode in Dota 2.

The option to select Axe became unavailable following a minor update released on June 23. Axe is displayed with a new icon in the hero list, and the runic text above his image reads “unavailable.” It’s worth noting that, according to rumors, Axe is set to be the main hero of the new Dark Carnival event in Dota 2, the release date of which is currently unknown.

As a reminder, Mark “sikle” Lerman previously found hints of an upcoming in-game event in the Dota 2 files.