Gnome Chompski, on the other hand, is an adorable garden gnome that first appeared in Half-Life 2, although he wouldn’t be given his full name until appearing in Left 4 Dead 2. If you did not also receive the achievement 'Manufacturing Ascent,' Newell has abandoned his plans to shoot Noam Chomsky into space.'įor those unaware, Noam Chomsky is an American linguist, philosopher, and polarizing political figure. 'If you are reading this achievement,” reads the new ‘Gnome Alone achievement, “ Gabe Newell has successfully launched Gnome Chompski into space. To commemorate this momentous occasion, Valve has updated both Half-Life 2 and Left 4 Dead 2 with a brand new achievement. It will now remain in space in perpetuity, or until something smashes into it and disturbs its orbit, sending it either careening back into Earth’s atmosphere or into the inky black depths of space.

Yesterday at 8:44 PM EST (2:44 PM NZT), a 3D-printed replica of Left 4 Dead’s Gnome Chompski was launched into space on the back of Rocket Lab’s Electron commercial rocket.

Gnome left 4 dead 2