Valve has released a major update for Counter-Strike 2, introducing a crafting system that fundamentally reshapes the game’s long-standing digital item economy. The new trade-up contract for knives and gloves has caused significant disruption in the multi-million dollar market on Steam and third-party platforms.
The update allows players to obtain highly sought-after knives and gloves by trading in five Covert-quality weapon skins from the same collection. Using five standard Covert skins will yield either a non-StatTrak knife or a pair of gloves, while five StatTrak Covert skins will result in a StatTrak knife. This creates a direct, albeit potentially expensive, acquisition path for items previously obtainable only through random case openings, altering their accessibility and perceived rarity.
The immediate market reaction was a dramatic surge in the price of Covert-quality weapon skins. Items like the AK-47 | Nightwish and AWP | Chromatic Aberration, now essential for crafting, saw their values skyrocket as players and traders rushed to acquire them. In the first 24 hours, popular Covert skins experienced average price increases of around 30%. A Minimal Wear AK-47 | Nightwish, for example, jumped 29.7% to $135, while a Factory New Glock-18 | Gold Toof rose 28.2% to $120.
Conversely, the value of existing knives and gloves dropped sharply. With these rare items now directly craftable, their market exclusivity diminished overnight, causing prices for many popular models to plummet by 20% to over 50%. A Factory New Karambit | Doppler fell 32% to approximately $740, a Factory New Butterfly Knife | Fade decreased 28% to $690, and a Well-Worn Navaja Knife | Crimson Web lost 53% of its value, dropping to $95.
A crucial detail of the new system is that knives and gloves obtained through these contracts are currently untradable and cannot be sold on the Steam Market. It remains unclear if Valve intends this restriction to be permanent. While this limitation prevents newly crafted items from flooding the market, it adds a layer of complexity to the economy and impacts the long-term value proposition of crafting. The update has injected significant volatility into the market, which is further compounded by Steam’s seven-day trade lock on items, slowing liquidity and complicating arbitrage strategies for traders.
Beyond the economy-altering changes, the update also reintroduced the official Retakes game mode, implemented improvements to matchmaking logic and performance, refined the user interface, and included adjustments to maps such as Inferno.
This update appears poised to permanently alter the landscape of CS2 skin trading. Covert skins have effectively become a new tier of currency, valued for their crafting potential as much as their appearance. While the increased accessibility of knives may benefit casual players, it has devalued the large inventories of long-time collectors and traders. Valve’s control over the market, particularly through the restrictions on crafted items, suggests an attempt to manage the potential fallout, but the long-term equilibrium of the skin economy remains uncertain.
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