Gabe Newell really did spend months practicing Mongolian throat singing around Valve’s office. After the story resurfaced, @tbaszt emailed Newell asking if it was actually true. Newell confirmed it, saying he had “worked on sygyt, kargyraa, and other styles.” He admitted he was “entirely self taught and it shows”, adding that he still practices “every once in a while.” He also said getting a clear sygyt sound “takes more time” because kargyraa is easier for him.

Counter-Strike co-creator Minh “Gooseman” Le has shared one of the stranger stories from his time at Valve, Gabe Newell once spent around five months practicing Mongolian throat singing around the office Le said Newell became fascinated with the singing style after watching a documentary, then started practicing it at work, walking through the halls and singing every day “He would just walk along the halls just doing this throat singing thing, and he would do it daily” According to Le, the singing was loud enough that “a lot of people in the office” became “kind of annoyed” by it, some employees reportedly started closing their doors because of the noise The phase lasted about five months, before Newell moved on to other interests, including knife collecting and medieval-style axes and swords youtube.com/watch?v=Bq_131Wv…