A collector has set his sights on the rare skin of an AK-47 available only on Counter-Strike: Go. Usually negotiated at a few thousand euros, the bill this time exceeded 150,000 euros. But this price is justified according to the specialists of this atypical market.
As you know, the sale of weapon skins, characters or other cosmetic items represents a financial windfall for many video game studios. Regarding free-to-play like Fortnite, Apex Legends or Call of Duty: Warzone, it is even the main source of income.
But in this area, Counter Strike: Go strikes even harder. Shortly after its launch in 2012, we saw the birth of a parallel market where players buy and sell weapon skins. Prices range all the way from a few euros to several hundred thousand.
And precisely, this Monday, March 13, 2023, a transaction over 150,000 euros was concluded on the Chinese platform Buff. It was a Wild Lotus skin for the AK-47one of the most used weapons in the game, especially in competitive mode.
Also to read : Counter-Strike – hackers steal 5.9 million euros worth of skins, this is a historic record
The skin of an AK-47 finds a buyer for more than 150,000 euros
If this sum is enough to make you jump, it is perfectly justified if we rely on the criteria that determine the amount of an appearance. And exactly what are they? First of all, there is the rarity and the “beauty” of the skin. In this case, collectors agree that the Wild Lotus skin is one of the rarest and most elegant of the AK-47.
In fact, the Wild Lotus skin usually trades around a few thousand dollars. But the degree of quality of appearance can significantly impact the amount required. Indeed, on CS GO, when a skin is randomly generated, it is assigned a “visual quality”, divided into five categories:
- worn out
- marked by battle
- field tested
- Very little worn
- Just out of the factory (Factory New in the language of Shakespeare)
A justified price for collectors
As can be seen on the product sheet of the skin in question, its quality is “Factory New”. But the presence of certain stickers can blow up the value of the skin. And as it happens, this Wild Lotus skin features four Reason Gaming Holographic stickers, great items for collectors.
Because, these skins were available in ultra limited quantities as part of the EMS One Katowice 2014 tournament, the second edition of the CS GO Major tournament. In the eyes of collectors, this price is totally justified, with regard to the rarity of the item. “The selling price is quite reasonable for this item. The skin has an insane sticker percentage and it remains one of the most popular AK skins in the game.” writes user zipeL on Twitter.
