Counter-Strike AK-47 and knife skins sell for a whopping US$500,000

It’s no secret how expensive skins in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive could get, but a recent (and one of the biggest and most expensive) sale amounting to over US$500,000 took that to the next level.

Yes, Counter-Strike skins can be extremely expensive.

Players can get a myriad of gun skins in the game simply by just opening the in-game crates, what we now know as lootboxes. These crates can grant you various rarity skins, from common skins all the way to expensive ultra-rare ones, which can be sold on Steam's Marketplace, and will fetch high prices if you are willing to pay for them.

An AK-47 Case Hardened skin commanded the highest price so far, fetching US$400,000.

The blue hue of the 661 pattern number is what makes this skin so special. The 661 design is widely regarded as the best design for this skin and tagged as a rank one blue gem pattern.

The skin is also the StatTrak "minimal wear" version 661, the best condition in existence. There is currently no StatTrak "factory new" version at the time of this writing. These less "wear" these guns have, it usually raises the price even more.

The skin also features four Katowice 2014 Titan Holo stickers, each worth approximately US$60,000 and the most expensive stickers in the history of Counter-Strike.

The sale also included a Karambit Case Hardened ‘Blue Gem’ knife, which was in “well worn” condition and sold for US$100,000.

The Karambit, when in “factory new” condition, is currently the most expensive Counter-Strike skin in existence, selling for US$1.5 million. However, since the item sold in the deal was “well worn”, the knife only fetched a little over 6% of the “factory new” price.

One of the most popular Counter-Strike skin traders, “zipeL” from Denmark, was the broker of the sale, who took to Twitter to share the news with his followers.

According to zipeL’s tweet, he sold it on behalf of Twitter user @Luksusbums. Both zipeL and Lukusbums regularly sell Counter-Strike skins through the Steam Workshop and are said to be co-founders of Skinbid, a marketplace and auction site for Counter-strike skins and items.

ZipeL’s Steam profile boasts of being the middleman to very expensive skin deals like Titan Katowice stickers and more.

The seller's identity was concealed, but gaming sites like Dextero speculate that he or she is a Chinese collector who also happens to be in possession of a Souvenir AWP Dragon Lore skin worth more than US$100,000.

Counter-Strike: Global Offensive skins continue to be popular, and prices have been skyrocketing, with investors and collectors willing to pay thousands. And with the arrival of Counter-Strike 2 just around the corner, skin prices will continue to increase — or so the skin traders hope.

Anna is a freelance writer and photographer. She is a gamer who loves RPGs and platformers, and is a League of Legends geek. She's also a food enthusiast who loves a good cup of black coffee.

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