Against all odds, we got Counter-Strike 2 in 2023. It seemed like Valve was fine coasting on Global Offensive indefinitely, but if there was one publisher that could still surprise everyone, it’s Valve. That sentiment cuts both ways, as the Counter-Strike 2 economy crashed recently.

This news comes directly from the Steam Community Market, where players are discussing the fallout. In short, roughly 25% of the marketplace value plummeted in nearly an instant.

Counter-Strike 2 Update Loses Nearly $2 Billion (So Far)

That’s Just As Of This Week

Thanks to a new update from Valve on October 22, the Covert tier of cases is now tradeable and can be converted into other gear, such as gloves or knives. You might think this is generally a good thing, as accessibility can be an important factor for players on a budget, but it also led to the in-game economy crashing to the tune of roughly $2 billion. Naturally, when a crash like this happens, many people choose not to hold onto their items, which devalues more items, and so on.

As a bit of background, Counter-Strike 2 has “cases” that you can open, which function a lot like skins in other games. Gloves and knives are among the rarest of them all, and knives in particular can go for thousands of dollars on third-party markets. As soon as the floodgates were open to make them far more accessible to nearly every player, the market started to crash.

Players Are Freaking Out Over Counter-Strike 2’s Market Crash

Casual Players Are Seeing Better Prices

Given that Counter-Strike 2 is still wildly popular, this has been a point of contention for hardcore fans. For many, hearing that there are knives that go for over $10,000 is enough to turn them off from some games, and that’s completely understandable. But for the veterans and folks who have been participating in the in-game economy, it’s a wake-up call.

Reactions have been all over the place. Many outsiders are enjoying the idea of the game being more financially accessible, but others aren’t so happy. Reddit user ProjectWinter8394 responded, “chill guys, I lost 7K or more,” while suggesting that they “think in 5 to 10 years prices will be back.” X user KrokettenKarl explained that they “lost 10K with knives and gloves.”

In any case, the community will likely need to sort out this Counter-Strike 2 mess, as Valve is notoriously hands-off with many of its games, even in times of crisis.