The pirate champion known as Gangplank has been killed off in "League of Legends."

Characters die all the time in "League of Legends," seeing as how the game is built around battles; but Gangplank's death is different because players can actually no longer select or use him in any games.

This is the first time any character has officially been killed off in "League of Legends."

According to Gamespot, the demise of Gangplank stems from the pirate's inability to overcome his arch-enemy Miss Fortune in the Bilgewater event currently taking place inside "League of Legends."

The game's developer, Riot Games, has taken the steps necessary to show fans that Gangplank is truly gone.

The moment players log into "League of Legends," they will immediately see a message indicating Gangplank is gone and no longer available for use. Some of the in-game artwork has also been changed to reflect the untimely demise of the pirate champion.

To top it all off, Miss Fortune, the champion who killed Gangplank, also has a new character skin called Captain Miss Fortune, and it is eerily reminiscent of the departed pirate's in-game outfit.

Gangplank's in-game demise marks the first time in the history of "League of Legends" that the game's story has had an actual impact on its gameplay.

Despite Riot Games' best efforts to suggest that Gangplank is really gone, many fans believe the pirate champion will be back sooner rather than later.

According to Kotaku, Riot Games just recently finished overhauling Gangplank, and the website suggests that the developer would hardly go through the trouble of doing so if they were planning to permanently kill off the character just a few days later.

Riot Games has also implied that they will not be refunding any of the character skins that have already been bought for Gangplank, further suggesting a return for the pirate is very much in the cards.