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Free-to-play multiplayer tactical shooter game Counter-Strike 2 (CS2) ignited fury among graphical skin collectors after modifying the game’s "Retakes" system to include knives and gloves.
What's the Scoop?
- Gameplay Change: An October 23 update now allows CS2 players to trade in five Covert-quality skins for a knife or pair of gloves, items previously obtainable only through rare case drops or the Steam Marketplace.
- Supply Flood: By enabling knives and gloves to be created from standard Covert skins, CS2 artificially inflated supply, thereby undercutting scarcity and sending the value of desirable skins into freefall. Prior to yesterday’s game update, the game's rarest knife was allegedly worth over $1M.
- Mixed Price Reaction: While the values of highly desirable knife and glove skins plummeted, the prices of the gun skins (which became the inputs to craft rare knife and glove skins) surged in price.
- Community Outrage: The backlash has felt omnipresent. Former YouTube gaming executive Ryan Wyatt encapsulated the sentiment, highlighting that the change could create a crisis of confidence in skin values and posting, “They just rinsed everyone in the market who had anything of value."
- Calls for Perspective: Still, some argue that panic is overblown. Data site CSFloat estimates that even if every eligible Covert skin were traded up, total knife and glove supply would only double.
Bankless Take:
High-value CS2 skin collectors are no doubt outraged that game creators chose to prioritize easy skin collection mechanics over the value of their bags. While sudden game mechanics changes can be troubling, particularly when they impact large sums of money, this is an unfortunate risk associated with any good that has alterable supply characteristics.
Retakes is back! Check out today's Blog Post, Re-Retakes: https://t.co/7PC61OrsOe
— CS2 (@CounterStrike) October 22, 2025
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