2020 has been a strange year for a lot of people for an awful lot of reasons.
Some of these strange things are good, like the Xbox Series X and the PS5, while some of the strange things are not so good, like the rest of the year.
However, one of the most peculiar bits of news has actually just come out, and it's all about Gabe Newell and a reference to a Half-Life 2 achievement.
That's right, Gnome Chompski is going to space in real life now.
Gabe Newell is sending a gnome into space
Gnome Chompski, for those not in the know, is a garden Gnome originally find in Half-Life 2: Episode Two, and you could earn yourself an achievement for carrying them onto a rocket.
It's an incredibly hard achievement to get, and Gnome became a recurring character when they showed up again in Left 4 Dead 2.
Well, there's now going to be a titanium model of him printed and sent into space. This is to test a 3D printing technique out to see whether or not it works and is being done as a collaboration between Gabe Newell, Weta Workshop, and Rocket Lab.
What's really cool about this, other than the whole space thing, is that Newell will be donating $1 to a charity called Starship for every single person that watched the Gnome ascending into the infinite void that is space.
What is Starship?
Starship is a children's hospital that "is a dedicated paediatric healthcare service and major teaching centre, providing family-centred care to children and young people throughout New Zealand and the South Pacific."
It's an important thing to fund, and it's definitely worth tuning into the live stream to make sure they get as much money as possible to continue funding their work.
Sure, this story is pretty strange, but this is a really easy way for us all to make a small difference to somebody else in a good way, so we recommend you keep an eye on it.
READ MORE:PS5 and Xbox Series X pre-orders: How the UK’s lockdown affects next-gen pre-orders