Your AirPods can now double as a retro gaming gun, and you can try it for free

Few things feel as satisfying as blasting pixelated ducks. However, I never imagined doing it with an earbud. Then again, gaming accessories have taken stranger forms.

A developer who posts as Dividivan on X turned one AirPod into a miniature, gun-like controller you can point and tap, but it only works with a Mac. The side project became BipBop, a free website that lets you use your AirPods as a controller for 30 throwback minigames.

How does an AirPod become a controller?

It all started with Duck Hunt. Dividivan posted a 28-second demo on X on October 18, 2026. It garnered over 126,000 views in two days. The developer says it was voice-coded: built by speaking prompts to an AI.

To play, pair one AirPod with a Mac running Apple Silicon, hold it in your hand, turn it to aim, and then shoot, like a regular gun-like controller. For those wondering how AirPods can aim, they have a built-in gyroscope; the same sensor that helps your AirPods track head movements can now help you aim at digital ducks.

To shoot, tap the area near the microphone on the AirPods. The app listens for the sound and translates it into a trigger. You can also shoot by pressing on the earbud itself, though that might not be as convenient. 

On Reddit, the developer told one commenter the shot delay is “0 by default,” which I’d read as no added lag, since Bluetooth always takes a moment (via Reddit). Two AirPods at once won’t work because, the developer says, Apple merges both signals. 

So much for dual-wielding your way through Duck Hunt. For all of this to work, you’ll need to disable Automatic Ear Detection first.

What should you know before trying it?

The good news is that BipBop is free (so you don’t have to share your credit card details), runs offline, and needs no account. Its 30 games include Bowling, Mini Golf, Hoops, and Wave Racer. 

That’s 30 ways to put your earbuds through their paces without spending a cent. The minimum system requirements are an M1 or later Mac, macOS 14 or newer, and AirPods that support head tracking. 

My advice: treat it as a beta. It’s still a 0.8.7 build and isn’t notarized, meaning Apple hasn’t scanned it, so macOS may refuse to open it. The developer says to use Open Anyway rather than weaken your security. 

It’s a fun little experiment, but maybe don’t hand your Mac’s security settings to the first virtual duck-shooting range you find.

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