Valve has added an easter egg to its Steam Controller that may make itself felt should users end up drop the controller. Specifically, the controller may let out a familiar sound effect that has been used in the film industry for decades.
Players who have already gotten their hands on the new gamepad have discovered a hidden easter egg, and it is one of the more charming hardware surprises in recent memory.
Valve Adds Easter Egg to Steam Controller When Dropped
The discovery was made by Reddit user u/RF3D19 and has since been confirmed by Engadget. When the Steam Controller is dropped, it plays a Wilhelm scream.
For those unfamiliar, the Wilhelm scream is one of the most famous stock sound effects in entertainment history, used in hundreds of films and games over the decades as a comedic or dramatic scream effect.
Valve has utilized an ingenious way to incorporate the iconic scream into its Steam Controller as it does not have a traditional built-in speaker. Here, the company used the Steam Controller's haptic motors to recreate the Wilhelm scream.
The result is a muffled but unmistakable cry coming from the gamepad itself every time it hits the ground.
Here's How to Make the Steam Controller Scream
Users who own the Steam Controller may test out this easter egg, but the good news is that they need not sacrifice their Steam Controller or risk damaging it. The feature will still work when dropped to a soft surface like a bed or pillow.
There is one catch worth knowing about, however. The easter egg appears to have a timeout period, with commenters on the Reddit thread estimating it takes roughly one minute to reset after triggering.
It is also important to note that the scream will not go off every time as users on Reddit claimed that the scream did not always ring out each time the controller hit the ground.
Originally published on Player One
