The Daily Populous Thursday May 14th, 2026 evening edition
Authored by gameobserver.com and submitted by Darth_Vaper883

Valve’s new Steam Controller already stood out because of its unique features like Gyro and the Steam Deck-inspired Trackpads, but early buyers have now found something much stranger hidden inside the device. If the controller falls to the ground, it can suddenly let out the famous Wilhelm scream, one of the most recognizable sound effects in movie history.

The feature was first discovered by Reddit user RF3D19, and after the post appeared online, other owners started testing their own controllers and confirmed the same thing. The user also shared a short clip showing that the controller really does scream when dropped, which you can watch here.

What makes the feature even funnier is that the Steam Controller does not actually include a speaker. Valve’s engineers used the internal haptic motors to recreate the sound effect by vibrating them at specific frequencies. The controller also uses its built-in gyroscopes to detect sudden falls or free-fall movement from around three feet high. In addition, the scream does not happen every time the controller is dropped. The effect only activates sometimes, and there is also a wait of around one minute before it can play again.

If you want to test the feature yourself, it is recommended not to throw a $99 controller directly onto a hard floor, especially since the device is currently hard to find because of the high demand. A bed, sofa, or thick pillow is a much safer option if you want to hear the Wilhelm scream without damaging the controller.

In other news, Valve has introduced a reservation system for the Steam Controller after it sold out in just 30 minutes, to stop scalpers and avoid the controller being resold on third-party websites at much higher prices. For more Valve-related coverage, keep checking GameObserver.

Quizlibet on May 14th, 2026 at 11:39 UTC »

I feel like this will be funny maybe 3 or 4 times

DrizzlingCats on May 14th, 2026 at 05:43 UTC »

Can confirm. My controller screeched when i dropped it

VR_Raccoonteur on May 14th, 2026 at 05:06 UTC »

This seems like it would have the opposite effect of what they hope. It will literally encourage children to throw their controllers on the ground.