Sea of Thieves Season 9 sets sail today, with a bevy of quality-of-life fixes, new loot, and plenty more cosmetics for players to earn. But it’s a particular unlockable item spotted in this season’s Plunder Pass that caught our attention. Players who reach level 17 on the free path of Rare’s version of a battle pass will unlock a shirt that ought to look very familiar to fans of ’90s sitcoms. Yes, Sea of Thieves has finally fulfilled its destiny and added the pirate-esque “puffy shirt” from Seinfeld.
For Season 5 Episode 2 of the award-winning sitcom, “The Puffy Shirt” is about the titular character, Jerry Seinfeld, who inadvertently agrees to wear a ridiculous shirt during his upcoming TV appearance all because his friend Kramer is dating a “low talker” whom Jerry could not easily hear when she pitched the idea to him over dinner.
The woman saw it as an endorsement opportunity. Jerry saw it as an embarrassment, but later feels obligated to wear the absurd attire on national television–to promote a benefit seeking to clothe the homeless–despite previously whining that he didn’t “want to be a pirate!”
In Sea of Thieves, the shirt isn’t an exact match–it lacks some of the signature puff in the sleeves, for example, but the resemblance is close enough to assume it’s intentional–or at least a happy accident. While it’s not exactly Fortnite with its out-of-game references, Sea of Thieves is no stranger to pop culture nods, with other examples that include Titanic- and Flashdance-inspired emotes, a Master Chief armor set restyled to suit Rare’s swashbuckling universe, and even a red suit worn by a skeletal Santa Claus.
Sea of Thieves Season 9 is live in-game as of March 16, with its fifth anniversary coming on Monday, March 20. A new deluxe edition includes bonus gold and Hunter cosmetics for all players who purchase the game or play it via Game Pass.
