Helldivers 2 Director Supports Arrowhead’s Firm Stance Against Cowboy Hats: “Hats Don’t Belong on Helmets”

If you’ve been keeping up with gaming news lately, you might have heard about Helldivers 2’s new Warbond gear called Borderline Justice. The catch? It comes with a cowboy theme but no actual cowboy hat. The developers at Arrowhead claim a cowboy hat doesn’t fit within the Helldiver uniform guidelines.

Some players are not on board with this decision, and a few have even resorted to mods to pair their new outfits with a ten-gallon hat. Johan Pilestedt, who’s currently on sabbatical and serves as the Helldivers 2 director and CCO, chimed in on the matter through a series of tweets during his time at GDC.

He was quick to seek players’ opinions on the gear, and unsurprisingly, many wanted to know why there’s no hat, or if there will ever be one. Pilestedt mentioned, “I don’t know—I haven’t heard the design conversation. But I think it crossed the line of what the Helldivers are. Which I agree with. I will ask the team next time I’m at the office.” He added in a further reply, “I agree it would be awesome, but I think it would break the Helldivers fantasy… people don’t wear hats over helmets.”

Not everyone is convinced by this reasoning, considering last year’s Viper Commandos Warbond featured a beret as part of its PH-9 Predators armor—a hat on a helmet got through the strict uniform rules. It seems the debate hinges on what qualifies as a military-style hat. Do cowboys belong on the battlefield, and is a cavalry hat really that different?

On a brighter note, Pilestedt hinted at something exciting in the pipeline: a perk allowing players to use sidearms as primary weapons and wield them akimbo. “Unfortunately, it’s too much work to make the animations right now, but maybe sometime in the future?” he teased.

What about you? Do you ever sport a hat on your helmet in real life? Which helmet are you talking about? Feel free to share your thoughts!