The Gabe Newell throat singing story is real. The Valve president confirmed it himself in an email reply to a fan who asked him about it directly. The fan posted the reply on X on September 23, 2026.
The story had spread a few days earlier, after Counter-Strike co-creator Minh “Gooseman” Le described the habit in an interview. Newell’s reply adds his side of it. He names the person he talked to about it and the styles he practiced, and he says he still does it now and then.
What Gabe Newell said in his email
A fan who posts on X as @tbaszt emailed Newell to ask whether he had really spent months throat singing at Valve. The reply came from Newell’s Valve email address, and it confirmed the story.
Newell wrote that he first tried to learn on his own. After that, he talked about it with blues musician Paul Pena. He called himself self-taught, adding: “I am entirely self taught and it shows.”
He said he worked on sygyt and kargyraa, two Tuvan throat singing styles. He also admitted that he got good enough to be annoying to the people around him.
He hasn’t dropped the hobby completely. Newell said he picks it up again every so often. When he does, it takes him about two weeks to get his throat back in condition.
Where the Valve throat singing story came from
Le told the story on the Indie Game Joe podcast, in an interview about making Counter-Strike and his years at Valve. He said Newell got interested in throat singing after watching a documentary and started practicing it while he walked the office halls.
Le said Newell did it every day and that it was loud. Staff started closing their office doors. He estimated that the phase lasted about five months before Newell stopped. We covered the full interview in our report on how Valve employees ended up shutting their doors because of Newell’s singing.
Throat singing was one of several hobbies Le mentioned. He also said Newell was into knives, bladesmithing and medieval weapons, and that one room at Valve filled up with swords and axes.
Gooseman’s account vs. Newell’s reply
| Detail | Gooseman’s account | Newell’s email |
|---|---|---|
| How it started | Watching a documentary about throat singers | Tried to learn on his own first |
| How he learned | Practiced while walking the office | Self-taught, later talked with Paul Pena |
| Styles | Described as Mongolian throat singing | Sygyt and kargyraa |
| How often | Every day | Not stated |
| How long | About five months | Not stated |
| Still doing it? | Said Newell stopped | Picks it up again now and then |
The two accounts line up on the main point: Newell practiced at work, and people noticed. Newell’s version adds the details of how he learned.
Who was Paul Pena?
Paul Pena was an American blues singer and guitarist. He taught himself Tuvan throat singing from a record, and he learned the khoomei, sygyt and kargyraa styles through long periods of practice.
In 1995, Pena traveled to Tuva for a throat singing competition. The trip became the documentary Genghis Blues (1999), which was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature. Pena died in 2005.
Tuva is a republic in Russia on the border with Mongolia. Throat singing is practiced in both regions, which is why it is often called “Mongolian throat singing.” The two styles Newell named sound very different:
| Style | Sound |
|---|---|
| Sygyt | High, whistle-like tones over a steady base note |
| Kargyraa | Very deep, growling low tones |
Not the first time Newell has answered a fan
Newell has a history of replying to fan emails. One player got into the alpha for Deadlock, Valve’s hero shooter, after emailing him directly. In 2022, he was also seen hand-delivering Steam Decks to buyers in Seattle.
In this case, a fan asked a simple question and got a straight answer. According to the man himself, the throat singing still comes back from time to time.
