Gabe Newell's Mongolian Throat Singing Phase at Valve Revealed

Ever wondered what it's like to work at Valve? According to Counter-Strike co-creator Minh "Gooseman" Le, it involved Gabe Newell walking the halls doing Mongolian throat singing for months.

In a new interview with Indie Game Joe on YouTube, Le recalled how Newell brought his personal fascinations into the office. It started after Newell watched a documentary on Mongolian throat singing and became fascinated with the concept. "He started to practice that," Le said. And he didn't practice quietly at home — he did it throughout the office.

"You would hear him try to sing with his throat as he's walking down the halls," Le explained. "And, I remember a lot of people in the office, they were kind of annoyed with this because it's kind of loud, right?"

Did that stop Newell? Not even close. According to Le, he kept at it daily. "He would just walk along the halls just doing this throat singing thing, and he would do it daily." The result? "People would just started closing the doors and it started to become quite a closed office," Le said, calling it "an interesting time."

The throat singing saga reportedly lasted around five months. And it wasn't an isolated phase — Le also mentioned Newell's other hobbies, like knife collecting and rooms filled with medieval-style axes and swords.

So yeah, Newell has always been a bit quirky, in the best way possible. This is the same man who invested his $9.5 billion fortune into yachts last year and is a known scuba diving enthusiast. What hobby will he pick up next? Your guess is as good as ours.

What do you think — would you be able to focus with Gabe Newell throat singing down the hall? Let us know in the comments!