{"rewrite":{"id":"r_2473fead8a4debfde6f017bc","clusterId":"c_ebed204cdf8822b46649be37","slug":"ex-valve-staff-recalls-gabe-newell-s-five-month-throat-singing-phase","model":"deepseek-v4-1-flash","headline":"Ex-Valve Staff Recalls Gabe Newell's Five-Month Throat Singing Phase","summary":"Gabe Newell, the Valve co-founder and Steam figurehead, spent about five months practicing throat singing inside the company's offices, according to former Valve staffer and Counter-Strike co-creator Minh Le. Le discussed Newell's habits in a conversation with game consultant Indie Game Joe. Newell took up the Mongolian vocal technique khoomei after watching a documentary, then sang it while walking the hallways, prompting employees to close their office doors, Le said. He recalled that many staff were annoyed. Le also described Newell as \"really eccentric\" and said Newell throws himself into anything that sparks his curiosity. Le cited a separate phase in which Newell collected medieval swords and axes and eventually took lessons to make his own knives, and he pointed to Steam's creation as evidence of Newell's long-term vision.","whyItMatters":"The same profile that makes Newell obsessive about hobby projects is the one Le credits with carrying Steam through internal skepticism, tying his office eccentricities to the product he is known for.","webCardHtml":"\u003cp\u003eThe throat-singing anecdote had surfaced before. Valve senior developer Charlie Brown recalled it in the Half-Life 2 20th anniversary documentary released in November 2024, describing a noisy office where staff rode scooters down the hallways and, in the middle of it, Newell sang Tuvan throat singing.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe habit left a mark on the games themselves. A singing Vortigaunt appears in Half-Life 2, and that voice was recorded during the stretch when Newell was absorbed in throat singing. The Half-Life 2 development period and the singing phase overlapped, which places both more than 20 years ago and explains why testimony keeps surfacing from multiple people who worked at Valve. Le\u0026#39;s account matches Brown\u0026#39;s on the volume and duration, though only Le names the five-month span and the documentary that started it.\u003c/p\u003e","blueskyPost":"Minh Le says Gabe Newell's throat-singing phase ran five months at Valve. Staff closed their office doors. The recording ended up in Half-Life 2 as a singing Vortigaunt.","twitterPost":"Le also says Newell collected medieval swords and axes, then took lessons to make his own knives. The throat singing is one entry in a longer pattern.","threadsPost":null,"newsletterBlurb":"Minh Le, who co-created Counter-Strike at Valve, talked about president Gabe Newell with consultant Indie Game Joe and described a five-month stretch when Newell practiced Mongolian throat singing around the office. Employees closed their doors to escape the noise. The habit was already known from Valve's Half-Life 2 anniversary documentary, and a singing Vortigaunt in the game carries a recording made during that period.","attributionJson":"[{\"source\":\"Automaton\",\"url\":\"https://automaton-media.com/articles/newsjp/20260925-470057/\",\"title\":\"Steam's Creator Gabe Got Hooked on 'Mongolian Throat Singing' and Sang It Every Day at the Office, Former Valve Employee Spills: 'Everyone Was Annoyed' - It Was So Loud They Closed Their Office Doors\"},{\"source\":\"Game Spark\",\"url\":\"http://www.gamespark.jp/article/2026/09/25/172768.html\",\"title\":\"Gabe Newell's personality is \\\"really eccentric.\\\" The bizarre antics of the president who created a five-month atmosphere of stagnation at Valve, the company behind Steam, are...!?\"}]","lintFlagsJson":null,"lintHits":0,"costUsd":0,"inputTokens":7120,"outputTokens":934,"status":"published","repairAttempts":0,"nextRepairAt":null,"factsAttemptedAt":1791064772,"createdAt":"2026-10-03T21:58:08.000Z","publishedAt":"2026-10-03T21:58:25.000Z","updatedAt":"2026-10-03T21:58:25.000Z"},"cluster":{"id":"c_ebed204cdf8822b46649be37","canonicalTitle":"ゲイブ氏の人柄は「本当に風変わり」。Steamの運営元、Valveへ5ヶ月に渡る閉塞感を生み出した社長の奇行とは…！？","representativeArticleId":"a_01cf4ddb4a5f51d0cd6efcec","sourceCount":2,"writtenSourceCount":2,"writeAttempts":0,"isSolo":false,"entitiesJson":"{\"anime_titles\":[],\"manga_titles\":[],\"work_titles\":[],\"studios\":[\"Valve\"],\"people\":[\"Gabe Newell\"],\"type\":\"news\",\"domain\":\"games\",\"is_roundup\":false}","contentType":"news","status":"published","firstSeenAt":"2026-09-25T10:45:02.000Z","lastSeenAt":"2026-09-25T10:47:52.000Z","updatedAt":"2026-10-03T21:58:21.000Z"},"attribution":[{"source":"Automaton","url":"https://automaton-media.com/articles/newsjp/20260925-470057/","title":"Steamの生みの親ゲイブ、“モンゴルの喉歌”にハマり会社で毎日歌うので「みんな迷惑してた」と元Valve社員がぶっちゃける。うるさくて、オフィスのドアを閉められる"},{"source":"Game Spark","url":"http://www.gamespark.jp/article/2026/09/25/172768.html","title":"ゲイブ氏の人柄は「本当に風変わり」。Steamの運営元、Valveへ5ヶ月に渡る閉塞感を生み出した社長の奇行とは…！？"}],"entities":{"anime_titles":[],"manga_titles":[],"work_titles":[],"studios":["Valve"],"people":["Gabe Newell"],"type":"news","domain":"games","is_roundup":false},"keyFacts":["Minh Le, a former Valve employee and co-creator of Counter-Strike, said Gabe Newell's throat-singing phase lasted about five months.","Newell took up the Mongolian vocal technique khoomei after watching a documentary, according to Minh Le.","Employees at Valve closed their office doors because of the noise from Newell singing in the hallways, Minh Le said.","Valve senior developer Charlie Brown recalled Newell singing Tuvan throat singing in the Half-Life 2 20th anniversary documentary, released in November 2024.","A singing Vortigaunt in Half-Life 2 was recorded during the period when Newell was practicing throat singing."]}