Skins are one of the reasons FPS games are booming and known worldwide today. In titles like CS2 and Rust, skins look even more incredible with the latest technology. You can buy and sell them at top Rust skin trading sites to make some extra cash if you want to improve your rust arsenal! And the same can be said for CS2. However, there’s more buying and selling activity among Counter Strike players.
Recently, the CS2 skin market has become a fascinating trend, transforming looks and aesthetics. Virtual weapon skins have evolved from mere in-game items to demanded commodities. Hence, skin trading is trending. In this post, we’ll examine skin trading and its history. So, read on to learn all you need to know.
A Quick Overview of CS2?
Counter-Strike 2, developed by Valve Corporation and Hidden Path Entertainment, is a viral first-person shooter game known for its intense and competitive gameplay. One of the key factors adding to CS’s popularity is its fantastic eSports scene.
The game is now a regular part of professional gaming tournaments worldwide, with players competing almost daily. If you watch these CS2 eSports fights, you’ll find that many players use aesthetic skins for their weapons.
What are Skins in CS2?
Simply put, CS2 skins are cosmetic items. They’re in-game units that change the appearance of weapons or armor. However, they won’t improve a weapon’s functionality or firepower in any way. Skins have different degrees of availability, affecting their value. The most common skins are worth just a few cents, while the rarest ones could cost tens of thousands of dollars.
Buying skins adds a sense of aura to your gameplay and shows how much of a veteran you are in CS. The exciting part is that you can sell or exchange them with other players when you no longer need them—making some money.
The Beginning of Skin Trading
Initially, trading of in-game items kicked off on Steam. However, there was no means of transferring the money players get from selling skins to a bank account. Instead, the profit earned is credited to the Steam account, and players could use it to buy new online video game items or more skins. To give an example, in 2011, long before the release of skins in CS2, players were able to exchange in-game items from Team Fortress 2. This came with an update in the game, and this was the advent of trading on CS2.
The first traders were professional salespeople. They set up their forums, arranged exchanges between each other, and pegged the prices of items by themselves. When skins were first introduced in the Arms deal update in August 2013, it was launched on the Steam trading platform. This led to the first traders shutting down their already existing platforms.
The First Skin Markets
The first markets were simple. Sellers offered skins for sale at a particular price, considering their rarity and appearance. And if you want to buy, you either agree with it or make a bargain. The haggle would go on until a reasonable price is agreed on. Once the price has been settled, it usually affects the item’s overall market cost.
However, this pattern resulted in a significant problem — purchasing expensive items. Steam placed a limit on the value individuals can sell at $400. Meanwhile, a large number of skins had prices above the limit.
The Market Recovery
Skin markets, like any economy, had downtimes, crises, and recovery. The Steam platform limit problem was resolved as trading platforms opened on social and community sites like Reddit and Twitter. As more and more people learned about skins, the new platforms couldn’t handle the surge. So, trading left Reddit and Twitter communities and moved out in the open. Influencers who talked about how to make money started focusing on skin trading.
The open platforms gradually grew, and players started repurchasing skins. Exchange platforms and marketplaces for in-game items followed suit, and players who wanted to make money on skins re-sold them on the marketplaces.
Final Thoughts
The history of skin trading shows its evolution from a simple in-game feature to a highly sought-after virtual economy. As these markets continued to grow, they reshaped the culture of gaming. You can partake in skin trading in CS2 and other FPS games to make money — or simply add aesthetic to your gameplay.