Valve CEO Gabe Newell Has Been Hiding Out In New Zealand During COVID Pandemic

So where has Valve CEO Gabe Newell been throughout the coronavirus pandemic? New Zealand, apparently.

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Last we heard from Valve CEO Gabe Newell, he was speaking from an undisclosed location about how single-player games might someday soon overtake multiplayer games thanks to advanced AI. This was a text interview so we didn’t get any clues as to where he was talking from.

We’d all assumed that he was in some secret underground bunker at Valve headquarters in Seattle, Washington. Turns out, we were all wrong. He’s actually in a much safer place: New Zealand.

Newell made a surprise appearance on TVNZ’s Breakfast morning show to discuss how he’s putting on a free concert to show his gratitude to the people of New Zealand for their generosity in letting him stay in their beautiful country.

Just after shipping Half-Life: Alyx, Newell was vacationing in New Zealand with race car driver Alex Riberas and Teagan Klein. Klein explained that when the coronavirus hit, they were given 48-hours to decide whether or not to fly back to their respective home countries or to stay in New Zealand after the country closed its borders on March 19th.

We can’t really say what influenced Newell’s decision, but we have to admit, he certainly made the right call. New Zealand has had zero cases of COVID-19 community transmission thanks to a rigorous lockdown, whereas the United States has untold millions of cases.

Since New Zealand has done so well at containing the pandemic, Kiwis are able to socialize almost like the pandemic isn’t even a thing. And so, Gabe Newell can throw them all a big party to show his appreciation for letting him stay in the country.

The concert is called “We Love Aotearoa” (which is the Maori name for New Zealand), and it’ll have “food trucks, live music, workshops and activities, virtual reality stands,” and “art installations.”

And while New Zealand has certainly been great for Newell (just look at his new beach bod), it’s been tough on him too.

“The hardest part by far is being worried about friends and family who aren’t in New Zealand,” Newell said. “When I talk to people back in Seattle, it’s a very strange time. It’s very challenging. They’re very isolated.”

You can watch the entire interview in the video above.

Source: TVNZ

Link Source : https://www.thegamer.com/valve-ceo-gabe-newell-has-been-hiding-out-in-new-zealand-during-covid-pandemic/