Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past 48 hours, chances are you’re already aware of the market upheaval in the Counter-Strike 2 skin economy following the game’s latest update.

The October 22nd CS2 update, which enabled players to use trade-up contracts to exchange five Covert skins for a knife or glove, triggered a massive market crash, putting a giant dent in the value and overall rarity of high-tier items and leaving collectors scrambling.

Previously, knives and gloves were considered to be the rarest items in CS2, with their value driven by scarcity. In fact, the only way of obtaining knives and gloves in CS2 prior to this update was through case unboxings at extremely low odds. The new trade-up system allows players to combine five Covert-tier skins to guarantee a high-value knife or glove from one of the collections used, dramatically increasing the supply of these items overnight.

Market Impact

The immediate impact that Valve’s latest experiment had on the CS2 skin economy was devastating, to say the least.

The sudden influx of knives and gloves in the market saw their prices drop up to 70%, wiping billions off the CS2 marketplace. On the other hand, the prices of Covert skins soared through the roof, with certain cheap skins gaining as much as 20 times their value within the span of a few hours. 

The dramatic shifts in individual item prices were reflected in the broader marketplace, with CS2’s market cap plummeting by nearly $3 billion in just 38 hours. This represents a staggering drop of nearly 50%, underscoring just how deeply the trade-up update has shaken the CS2 economy. The unprecedented decline demonstrates the sheer scale of the update’s impact and how much a single change to the trade-up system can wreak havoc on the game’s entire digital economy.

Community Reaction

Consequently, CS2 skin collectors who had invested heavily in high-tier skins saw their inventories lose a hefty chunk of their value overnight, sparking outrage within the community. Players flooded forums, subreddits, and social media, debating the fairness of the trade-up update, with many urging Valve to reverse or make adjustments to the system.

On the other end of the spectrum, players who had previously invested in Covert skins or just had cheap Coverts lying in their inventories saw significant profits thanks to the update.

Many players also believe that this change is a blessing in disguise for the game’s overall ecosystem, as it will lower the largely inflated knife prices and make high-tier items a lot more affordable for the average player.

What Does the Future Look Like?

Looking into the future, some experts predict that high-tier knife and glove prices may stabilize at roughly half of their pre-update value, while Covert skins used in trade-ups could see temporary spikes before settling at around 50% inflated values.

Needless to say, the market has fundamentally shifted as a result of this update, and players are still actively learning to adapt to the new landscape.