How Will the New Version of Counter Strike Affect CS Trading?

With Valve recently releasing its groundbreaking announcement regarding the upcoming launch of Counter Strike 2,members of the CS community are panicking over the fate of their items. What’s more, everyone is wondering how this big change will affect the booming economy of cosmetic skins. Will players lose everything that is currently in their Steam inventories? Will they have to cash out their items? Will trading still be a thing?

Don’t worry, because today we’re here to answer all your probing questions and tell you everything you need to know about Counter Strike 2’s impact on the trading community.

What Is Happening to Counter Strike: Global Offensive

On March 22, Valve Corporation dropped a bombshell announcement that they were officially going to release a brand new game – Counter Strike 2. Yes, a new game, not just an update.

The news basically confirmed rumors that had been around in the community for some time now. It was obvious that the developer would eventually be porting Counter Strike to its new game engine, Source 2. However, everyone thought that the process would simply take place in the form of an update that would change a few things here and there. Instead, the company decided to release a completely new version of its infamous video game, Counter Strike 2. Moreover, the company also announced that when this happens, Global Offensive will be pretty much dead, as CS2 will come as a free update.

Of course, the news came as a bit of a shock to players, especially since the release of the new game has been set for the summer of 2023, which means it’s happening really soon.

What Changes Are Coming with Counter Strike 2?

Most of the changes taking place with the arrival of Counter Strike 2 are aimed at improving the game’s dynamics, visuals, and overall gameplay. Valve has announced that the new engine will greatly improve Grenade Smokes, making them more interactive and realistic-looking, as well as introduce new visual elements such as AWP Bullet traces, weather effects and more. On top of that, Source 2 will reportedly significantly boost the game’s tick rate, which is basically responsible for the server’s ability to record all in-game activity. The developer claims that their technology will eliminate any discrepancies between what a player does and what is tracked by the server.

However, these are only the most important of the various updates coming with the launch of Source 2. If you are curious about them, you can try playing the beta version of Counter Strike 2 prepared by Valve, which is already available to an exclusive group of players.

How This Affects the Trading Community?

Many of you have probably wondered what impact Counter Strike 2 will have on the trading community. After all, the economy of cosmetic items is a huge part of Counter Strike. Some people make a fortune by exchanging, selling and buying items. Will this change everything for them?

Fortunately, the answer to that question is no. Of course, there is no way to fully predict what will happen to the Steam market after the release of Counter Strike 2 and the departure of Global Offensive. Nevertheless, Valve has made it very clear that everyone’s items will be safely transferred to the new engine, at no extra charge. All skins will be automatically updated to fit the new technology.

Will This Affect the Value of Counter Strike Items?

As we said, there is no way to foresee exactly what will happen in the item market. However, if we were to make some assumptions, it looks like things will work pretty much the same way. Skin prices have always depended mainly on the law of supply and demand, as well as on these key factors:

• Float Value
• Presence of StatTrak
• Rarity
• Belonging to a Collection

At this point, there is no indication that this is about to change. Item pricing on Steam will most likely continue to be governed by the same rules.

Will You Still Be Able to Trade CS2 Skins?

Trading is a huge part of Counter Strike and Valve knows it. They have already announced that there are no planned changes when it comes to players’ items and that they will all be safely ported to the new engine. Therefore, we think it’s safe to say that everyone will still be able to trade CS2 skins. Whether you use the Steam Community Market, online marketplaces or reputable trading sites like SkinsMonkey to exchange your items, you can continue to make money from these transactions. In fact, we believe that the transition to Source 2 will only further accelerate the economy on Steam and bring many new players to Counter Strike. This means even more demand for cosmetic items.