

How “elite” you appear in these tense moments is an intangible, but highly satisfying thing, and nothing screams “badass” like an ultra rare butterfly knife dancing on-screen in your hands as you win the round. They can purchase keys to unlock containers with a random chance at different skins for different weapons, or they can purchase the skins directly from other players via the Steam Marketplace. In CS:GO, players have several options at their disposal for purchasing weapon skins for all of the standard weapons in the game. The more visible or prominent an item is in-game, the more valuable it becomes. The Value of VanityĪt its core, vanity in video games is a function of visibility.

What makes CS:GO’s items worth so much? Why do players place so much value on skins in the first place? Let’s break it down. Many other games are on the Steam Marketplace today, but none of them have items that are as valuable as CS:GO’s collection. The Steam Marketplace offers a sanctioned, purely digital marketplace for players looking to buy, sell or trade their Steam items with other players, and when CS:GO’s skins debuted, the Steam Marketplace exploded in popularity. When CS:GO’s skins released, they used a traditional gacha box system, with one critical addition to the formula: the Steam Marketplace.
