What will happen to skins in Counter-Strike 2?

Ever since the rumors about the new Source 2 broke out, the question of what will happen to skins in the new version of the game has been up in the air. There has been a lot of talk within the community with speculations being all over the place. With the recent announcement of Counter-Strike 2, Valve has made sure to answer this question as well.

Breaking down the Announcement

In the latest announcement, it has been made clear by Valve that all skins from Counter-Strike: Global Offensive will be retained in Counter-Strike 2. Furthermore, the statement indicates that the skins will benefit from the improved lighting and materials in the new engine. By doing this, the textures of weapons will be enhanced and will be more pleasing to look at.

While the models of the skins have also been upgraded to a higher resolution, this doesn't render the previous model obsolete. Older models will continue to be supported by the new engine, but skins from now on will follow a better model to improve their visuals. There was also an indication that some skins would benefit more from it than others. As tweeted out by zipeL, this could simply mean that the visuals of skins with lower resolution might improve significantly. Or, it could also mean that the new engine might support the pearlescent effect of the Printstream skin line better.

Speculation about the Prices

AK-47 CS2

The new economy of the skin market will largely depend on how well the players receive the new model of the game. Even though CS:GO was released almost 11 years ago, the player base of the game has been only going up. As a result, the skins have also continued to surge in price.

During the last few weeks especially, skin prices have gone through the roof because of the hype surrounding the release of the new game. Everything from stickers to weapons to knives and gloves have experienced a swift increase in price. For instance, the Antwerp capsules have experienced gone up in price by almost 200% in around a month.

The new Counter-Strike 2 is expected to increase the player count further, meaning skins should naturally increase in price too. While that is to be fairly certain in the long run, the same can’t be said for the moment. With the release of the game still being a few months away, it’s hard to guess the trend in-game skins will follow promptly. Market volatility could result in frequent price inflation and deflation.

Another factor that might determine the value could be viability of weapons. Certain weapons’ finishes could lose value if they get nerfed in the new version. On the other side other weapons' finishes could also gain value if they are buffed.

What to invest in?

Ever since the introduction of cosmetic finishes in 2013, the prices of these skins have only followed an upward spiral and have made for an excellent investment

If the player record continues to reach new heights, the price of popular skins and knives will increase most swiftly. Butterfly knives, which have been the most popular knives in the game by far, might increase even more.

CS2 model

But since most butterfly knives are already pretty expensive, you might want to take a look at holographic stickers. The holos from the Antwerp and the Rio major have been on the rise over the course of the last few weeks.

If the new lightning improves the visual effects in the holos, they will also experience a rise in demand, ultimately increasing their price. Depending on the new visuals, the Glitter stickers, that have been less popular in the community, might also experience a rise in demand.

The pearlescent skins can also be potential candidates for good investment if the new models make them look more appealing. At the same time, they can also turn into bad investments if bought at the wrong time. It's not surprising that people are hoarding stocks of these investments since they're obvious investments. If there are no significant improvements to the visuals, they might also lose their value.