The new Steam Controller has only been out for a short time, but users have already discovered a funny hidden easter egg that you probably weren’t expecting. It turns out that if you accidentally (or intentionally) drop the controller while Steam Big Picture Mode is open, the controller can sometimes let out the famous Wilhelm Scream.

For those unfamiliar, the Wilhelm Scream is one of the most recognizable sound effects in entertainment history. It has been used for decades across movies, TV shows, and video games. Once you recognize the sound, you start hearing it almost everywhere; it’s essentially used as an easter egg these days, and that’s exactly what Valve has done.

Drop your Steam Controller while you’re in Big Picture Mode

Valve has hidden the scream inside the Steam Controller as a secret feature. The discovery was shared by a Reddit user, who noticed the controller making the scream after tossing it onto a bed. At first, many people thought it was fake or edited, but more users quickly started testing it themselves and confirmed that the easter egg is real.

According to players who tried it, the controller only triggers the sound occasionally rather than every single time it gets dropped. There also appears to be a cooldown timer of roughly a minute to stop users from spamming the scream repeatedly.

To make it work, users need to have Steam running in Big Picture Mode. After that, dropping the controller may trigger the sound effect. Several users reported that the scream happens around one out of every five or six drops.

What makes the easter egg even more interesting is that the Steam Controller does not actually have a built-in speaker. Instead, Valve appears to recreate the sound using the controller’s haptic motors. Modern controllers can use advanced vibration systems to simulate audio effects, similar to how Nintendo used HD Rumble effects in Super Mario Bros. Wonder to create musical sounds.

Of course, nobody should start throwing around a $100 controller just to hear the sound. Most users testing the easter egg are carefully dropping it onto soft surfaces to avoid damaging it. Still, it is a funny little detail from Valve, and exactly the kind of hidden joke many fans love discovering in gaming hardware and software. We sort of hope it would be customizable.

About the Author

Abdul Haddi

Abdul is a tech writer and Editor for PC Guide, specializing in all things tech, gaming, and hardware.