Helldivers 2 Director Supports Arrowhead’s Bold Anti-Cowboy Hat Stance: “People Don’t Wear Hats on Helmets”

As we’ve mentioned a few times this week, Helldivers 2 just rolled out a new Warbond called Borderline Justice, with a cowboy twist. Interestingly, it doesn’t include a cowboy hat because, according to Arrowhead, that doesn’t quite fit within the Helldiver uniform’s guidelines.

However, not everyone agrees with this decision. Some players have gone so far as to leave the official gear selection to find mods that let them pair the new armor with a ten-gallon hat. Johan Pilestedt, the game director of Helldivers 2 who’s currently enjoying some time off, shared his take on this via a Twitter thread while attending GDC.

When Pilestedt asked for player feedback on the Borderline Justice gear, the question about the missing cowboy hat came up more than once. In response, Pilestedt replied, “I don’t know – haven’t heard the design convo. But I think it crossed the line of what the Helldivers are. Which I agree with,” adding that he’d check with the team on his next visit to the office. To another fan, he expressed that, though a cowboy hat would be fun, it might disrupt the Helldivers’ core aesthetic, saying, “People don’t wear hats on helmets.”

Some players are a bit puzzled by this, pointing out that the PH-9 Predators armor from last year’s Viper Commandos Warbond features a beret on a helmet, which seems to have passed the uniform guidelines. This raises the question: Are cowboy hats not considered military enough, or is a cavalry hat something else entirely?

Pilestedt also hinted at potential future updates that caught players’ attention. “A perk that allows people to take sidearms as primary AND wield them akimbo…,” he hinted. “Sadly, it’s quite a workload for animations, but maybe sometime down the line?”

So, are you one to wear a hat over your helmet in real life? If so, what kind of helmet are we talking about? We’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments!