Gabe Newell Is a Boss in This New Indie Game

[UPDATE] According to a tweet from developer Powerhoof, Valve is on board with Crawl using a Gabe Newell character as a boss.

The original story is below.

Indie game Crawl is adding a secret new boss character: Valve managing director Gabe Newell.

Developer Powerhoof recently revealed the new addition to the game, which has been in early access on Steam since last year, with an animated GIF showing off Newell (below). Because this was seen by much of the world on April Fools' day, this was presumed by many to be a joke. In fact, it isn't, as designer Barney Cumming has clarified that the blog post announcement was actually posted on April 2 in Melbourne, Australia.

Cumming described the addition of Newell to the game as having "been at the top of my list since the very start." If all goes according to plan, he'd be added in Crawl's next update.

However, Powerhoof evidently didn't ask either Newell or Valve for permission to use the former's likeness; it was only after it began attracting the attention of the media that Cumming emailed Newell for the thumbs up.

In the email, which Cumming shared on Powerhoof's blog, he presents the case for adding Newell. This includes the fact that he would be Crawl's most powerful character, an exchange of pictures so that Cumming's likeness can be used in Valve's games, and an offer to get the developers of Crossy Road to add Newell's favorite animal to the game. Cumming also argues, "The transformation implies your more recent bearded look is actually your Super Saiyan form."

Oh, and he says "please."

"I always got the impression Gabe would be cool with stuff like this, but when a big company is involved who knows what kind of crazy reasons they'll have, so at least I can say I tried!" Cumming said of the email.

Newell has yet to respond, at least publicly, nor has Valve responded to GameSpot's request for comment.

Crawl is a multiplayer dungeon crawler where one player assumes the role of the hero while others control traps and monsters. At this point, its multiplayer is limited to local play only, though online support is described as "a possibility."