Dota 2’s Gabe Newell announcer pack is as dry as humour can get

Alongside the official launch of Steam TV catering to Valve’s $25 million Dota 2 tournament, fans of the MOBA got something they never knew they wanted so badly: a Gabe Newell Mega Kills announcer pack. The Valve CEO graces players with a deadpan delivery that perhaps rivals the comedic stylings of the Stanley Parable narrator, while still avoiding the number three.

Unveiled in the form of a sketch, the comedic skit shows Newell struggling to muster up any emotion in the delivery of his lines, including visible confusion when asked to announce a triple kill. This is, of course, in reference to the long-running joke that Valve has an aversion to the number 3, and the actual pack itself doesn’t fail to deliver with Newel stating “more than two kills, but less than four kills.”

As with the majority of announcer packs, there’s a good deal of comedy throughout. “Please email me at [email protected] and let me know about your rampage,” Newell says when the player hits 5 consecutive kills in a short timeframe. For some reason, he also wants to remind you he’s not wearing underwear and that “fundamentally, piracy is a service problem.”

The rest of Newell’s Mega Kills pack does a good job of quelling toxicity with its own encouraging lines, ending ‘first blood’ announcements with “thanks and have fun,” to “you were doing very well, I’m very proud of you” when you die. At one point, Newell simply interjects to say “you’re a beautiful person, with a charming personality.” The only exception is Newell stating that “the entire team was an ass, and we won’t be working with them again,” which is likely mocking player tendencies to blame everyone apart from themselves.

Those wanting access to Newell’s voice will have to buy Dota 2’s $10 Battle Pass, in which a quarter of each purchase goes towards the record breaking $25 million prize pool for The International. The tournament itself will run until August 25th, 2018, primarily broadcasting from Steam TV.

KitGuru Says: I’ll never forget how the Rick and Morty announcer pack introduced me to the popular Adult Swim show, even making me replace my beloved Stanley Parable narrator. If I were to get back into the game, I do think I’d give the Newell announcer a try. What do you think about Gabe’s long overdue Mega Kills pack?

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