The Complexities of the Virtual Economy of Counter-Strike 2 and Their Predictability

Although many games have digital economies and some even allow players to trade their items with other players for real-world money, none have found quite the same level of success as Counter-Strike’s virtual economy, valued in the billions of dollars. Within this market, there exist cosmetic items that span from a just few cents to purchase to private deals for rare collector’s items that total well into the hundreds of thousands of dollars (McAdam, Boulton 2024). In this thesis, we will be exploring what exactly makes this virtual economy such a financial powerhouse as well as what factors contribute to the vast gulf in pricing seen in this fascinating market. Upon identifying these factors, we will see how they can be used to predict the pricing of skins that could eventually come to the game.