The mystery of the White Hat Rocket League Topper.
What is the White Hat in Rocket League?
If you google what the term White Hat means, you'll find definitions such as "a person who hacks into a computer network in order to test or evaluate its security systems". If you're wondering what a White Hat has got to do with Rocket League, it is the reward players get for finding game-breaking exploits in the form of a White Hat topper. It is considered to be one of the rarest and the most expensive items in Rocket League costing you approximately $12000 if you want to get your hands on one.
Only 25-30 hats are estimated to be in existence, and 11 of them are given directly to Null. You may have to beg an owner of a White Hat to even consider selling it as it is such a rare and prestigious item in the game. These players helped make the game better and were rewarded by Psyonix as a token of appreciation.
If you’re a fan of expensive items, especially toppers, you should definitely check out our list of the most expensive toppers in Rocket League.
How did the White Hat come about in Rocket League?
In March of 2016, when Rocket League was relatively a new game, two unsung heroes, Cobra and Null found at around the same time some very concerning bugs which now allows them to hold the title of the first White Hat receivers. Cobra found a problem with the Rocket League API where he could log in with any player's account and alter it in different ways. This would obviously cause a lot of problems in the community and if figured out by the wrong people, could be used to improve one's advantage unfairly, so he immediately contacted Dirkened, who was Rocket League’s community manager.
Null, who is also one of the first White Hat owners, found some potentially dangerous exploits such as, messing with the game's matchmaking, and also changing account names to other players' accounts, even top-ranked players.
Psyonix then realized that a simple thank you is not enough to show their appreciation to these "White Hat Hackers" and decided to make the White Hat reward system for any player in Rocket League who finds some potentially dangerous exploits. Cobra and Null were the first ones to receive the item as a special thank you from Psyonix.
Can players still receive White Hats in Rocket League?
The last person to receive these prestigious White Hats from Psyonix was Null in December 2020 and at the time, he received his 13th one in the game. He received an e-mail saying that it was the last White Hat to ever be rewarded to another player as they were changing the reward system to actual money instead of in-game items. However, this did not mean that the White Hat legend era was over and you could find this item in your daily item shop.
These ethical hackers could have at any point chosen the route where they used these exploits to cause trouble, but instead, they chose to help out. Psyonix did not want these guys to feel like they were less appreciated and in Feb 2021, they were rewarded with an officially verified club, the "White Hat receivers". At the same time, Null and Cobra received a player title each called "White Hat Legend" and this player title was only available for them as they were the first two players who earned that title.
Rocket League belongs to a collective player base composed of hackers, traders, players, content creators who earn money playing rocket league, and many more, who depend on each other's contribution to making the game better every day.
