Valve co-founder Gabe Newell has confirmed that he spent months practising Mongolian throat singing in the company’s offices, eventually irritating some staff. The unusual hobby reportedly emerged during the development of Half-Life 2 and was later replaced, at least partly, by sword collecting.

Newell said he taught himself styles including sygyt and kargyraa, acknowledging that his technique showed his lack of formal training. He still occasionally returns to throat singing, saying it takes weeks to condition his throat and longer to produce a clear sygyt sound.