Razer have gone and performed some proper wizardry with a new piece of software: it turns ordinary, simple stereo headphones into 7.1 surround sound enabled devices. What’s more, they’re giving Razer Surround away for free for anyone and everyone.

They also give the option of donating to Child’s Play the funds that might have gone on buying the software.

Razer Surround emulates a surround sound environment by taking positional data from your games and playing it through your stereo headset speakers in a way that seems like full-surround audio. It’s not quite the same, surround sound headphones have multiple speakers in the ear pieces to create the effect of being surrounded by noises and no software is going to be able to compete with that entirely. But it’s a step up on basic stereo nonetheless.

You can sample the difference the software makes on Razer’s website.

Razer are giving away Razer Surround till 31 December. Though, they give the option to donate money to Child’s Play in lieu of the payment to themselves.

It’s a good move by the hardware manufacturer – they raise money for charity while also pushing gamers into a surround sound environment, once players have a taste for 360 degree soundscapes they can buy 7.1 headsets from Razer. Win win.

You can download Razer Surround from here.