Valve co-founder Gabe Newell has been making some pretty substantial changes over the past few months. For one, Newell officially relocated to New Zealand and became a tax resident in the country following his prolonged stay due to the pandemic.
Not too long ago, Newell announced that he would be raising money for the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit of children's hospital Starship located in Auckland, New Zealand by launching a garden gnome into space. Now, the time for has come for one of Valve’s most famous Easter Eggs to enter the final frontier, as the charity live stream of the event is set for November 20.
For those who are unaware, the reason a garden gnome is being used as the prop that gets launched into space is a reference to one of Valve’s games. Specifically, it is a reference to the famous “Little Rocket Man” achievement in Half-Life 2. To earn the achievement, players must carry a garden gnome, lovingly nicknamed Gnome Chompski, throughout the game all the way to the final area. In celebration of one of video gaming’s best achievements and to raise money for a worthy charity, Newell is launching a garden gnome into space during a live stream event.
Notably, Newell will donate $1 for every viewer that tunes in to watch the rocket launch live on stream. To make all this possible, Newell teamed up with New Zealand-based prop company Weta Workshop and American aerospace manufacturer Rocket Lab. Interested readers can watch Newell launch the garden gnome into space live on Rocket Lab’s YouTube channel on November 20 at 3:22 NZT or 9:22 EST. Everyone who simply tunes in to the stream will be helping a worthwhile cause, all while seeing a 3D printed, titanium version of Valve’s infamous garden gnome go where no gnome has gone before.