Released in 2012 for PC and consoles, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive is the latest entry in Valve’s legendary Counter-Strike franchise. Carrying forward the series’ Terrorist vs Counter-Terrorist gameplay, CS:GO lets players do battle online in a variety of different multiplayer modes to rise in the rankings and unlock new weapon skins. Unlocking weapon skins through a loot box mechanic was added to CS:GO shortly after launch, and led to the rise of a thriving economy based on trading and selling skins. Complying with local laws, Valve disabled this mechanic in Belgium and the Netherlands in 2018 after loot boxes were banned by the Belgian government.
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In a post on Twitter, user Luksusbums announced that he was selling his “661 ST MW 4xTT holo” skin for the AK-47 with a starting price of $400k, a significant sum even by CS:GO skin standards. Luksusbums is one of the co-founders of Skinbid.com, which provides a marketplace for selling CS:GO weapon skins, and stated that he was selling the rare skin after replacing it with a Wild Lotus 4xR holo skin. Due to the unusually high price of the skin, Luksusbums initially had trouble even listing it for sale on skin trading site Buff.163.com since the site didn’t support prices that high.
While Luksusbums’ weapon skin is undoubtedly rare, with each of the 4 Titan Holo stickers applied to the gun selling for around $60,000 individually, responses to the tweet listing its sale were primarily filled with a mix of confusion and bemusement at the hefty price. For users unfamiliar with the game, the idea of paying so much for an in-game item seemed inconceivable, and even some CS:GO players stated that the price was too high for what they claimed was an “overrated” skin. Many responses took the opportunity to decry in-game gambling mechanics in general, showing that not everyone agrees with claims from companies like EA that players love loot boxes.
The price for this weapon skin may seem astronomical to many gamers, but a quick glance at Luksusbums’ Skinbid.com site shows that some players have no problem ponying up real cash for digital items. Luksusbums’ unique skin may never fetch the $400k he’s asking for, but this story highlights how gaming can become a big business in some unexpected ways. For fans just looking to enjoy some Counter-Strike action without worrying about loot boxes, though, Counter-Strike for Nintendo DS might be more their speed.
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive is available now for Mac and PC.
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