Fans make Steam Controller “sing” using haptics

Less than a month after the second-generation Steam Controller launched, an open-source haptics tool is letting Steam Controller owners and Steam Deck users play MIDI tunes through the controller’s trackpad vibrations—no speaker required, and no official custo

The first time the notes landed, it wasn’t a ringtone or a beep—it was music. Coming from a device that, on paper, shouldn’t be able to produce sound at all.

Valve’s Steam Controller has no speaker. Still, the haptic motors in its trackpads can vibrate at specific frequencies, essentially like a speaker. That’s the mechanism an enterprising hobbyist is turning into a full-on sing-along.

CrazyCritic89. the creator behind videos of the controller playing melodies including “Still Alive” from Portal and the “Ground Theme” from Super Mario Bros. 2, says the controller makes noise through those haptic motors. In normal use. the trackpads’ haptics provide feedback as a thumb glides over them or lets you “press” them like a button even though they don’t actually click down. The twist is that the same motors can be driven at frequencies that line up with audible patterns—so the controller can generate tones.

Fast forward to today: less than a month after the launch of the second-generation Steam Controller, CrazyCritic89’s work is being used to make it “sing” too. The tool is called “Steam Haptics Singer,” and it’s available on GitHub in Windows and Linux versions.

What it plays isn’t recorded audio. Instead, “Steam Haptics Singer” uses MIDI tracks—simple digital music files made of notes rather than actual sound recordings. Once set up, users can have a Steam Controller (either generation) or a Steam Deck play those MIDI tracks through haptic vibration.

In a personal test. I found MIDI files. followed the instructions. and then hit the kind of obstacle Valve owners know too well: tinkering. On a Steam Deck, getting the controller to sing required spending time with the terminal in desktop mode. After that. though. the moment the first notes sounded was enough to bring a grin—because the controller was doing something it was never meant to do for music.

Valve. for its part. isn’t offering a native way to customize the Steam Controller’s sounds through Steam right now. The company was asked about it in April. and Valve’s Pierre-Loup Griffais said that while “it’s possible that there’s going to be more both configurability and customization for that in the future. ” the team isn’t focused on it right now. Griffais also suggested that if Valve builds a sound customization tool. it would likely come as some sort of SDK or a tool that everyone could use. and Valve might consider it if there’s enough demand.

There’s already a hint Valve listens to community work. After Steam Deck users sideloaded custom boot videos that show when the handheld powers on. Valve made custom boot videos an official Steam Deck feature so anyone could join in. Valve even added a special spot in the Steam store for additional boot videos from Valve.

For now, “Steam Haptics Singer” is the path to those controller melodies—making use of the hardware’s haptics exactly the way Valve already does, just with the community doing the wiring and turning.

And for anyone who’s ever wanted a controller to do more than buzz, it’s hard not to feel the appeal: not because it’s polished, but because it’s possible.

Steam Controller haptics MIDI open-source GitHub Steam Deck Valve CrazyCritic89 customization