While I wouldn’t normally advise dropping your Steam Controller, doing so will reveal an Easter egg that a cinephile at Valve managed to sneak into the design. Turns out the legendary Wilhelm scream has been quietly hiding inside the pad.
Reddit user RF3D19 uncovered the secret sound in the Steam Controller after tossing one onto a bed, assuring us that no pads were harmed in the process of making this discovery. After sharing this finding on the r/SteamController subreddit, RF3D19 quickly followed up with video evidence, which I’ve embedded below.
I’ve since verified the Steam Controller does, in fact, output the legendary Hollywood soundbite when you drop it. Don’t worry, I chose a particularly soft pillow to carry out my test. However, the Wilhelm scream doesn’t trigger on every drop, and I haven’t been able to deduce whether the sound is subject to a cooldown timer or plays by chance.
There’s some debate about whether the scream only triggers in Big Picture mode. However, some Reddit users claim they’ve been able to coax out Wilhelm from just powering on their Steam Controller. In any case, make sure you’re exercising caution if you plan to do your part in uncovering the intricacies of this Easter egg.
To give a brief history lesson on the Wilhelm scream, it’s a sound effect you’ll find in films dating all the way back to the 1950s, most commonly used when a character falls from a height, hence its usage in the Steam Controller. It’s a sound that always brings a smile to my face whenever I hear it, having become a sort of in-joke for film fans.
Following the discovery of this Easter egg, I now wonder what other secrets the controller has left to uncover. While I’d prefer the community discover such secrets organically, I’m sure it won’t be too long before someone is able to data mine anything else lurking in the pad. However, given that the only way to get one is via the Steam Controller reservation queue, we might be waiting a while.
On that note, check out our coverage of the latest rumour that a Steam Machine reservation queue seems very likely at launch.
