CS2 Update: Trade-Up and Knife Crafting

While CS2 has received a series of updates already, the latest one is definitely the most groundbreaking. The update was released last week, marking a significant milestone in Counter-Strike 2 history due to its major impact on gameplay and the community. Last week players woke up to their skins falling in price and the CS2 skins market completely crashing. That’s because the latest CS2 update introduced a revolutionary change in the game – players now have the ability to craft CS2 knives!

Any player can now turn their unwanted skins into CS2 knives or gloves via trade-up contracts, giving them the new ability to craft knives directly.

Want to learn more? Here’s all you need to know about the latest CS2 update and how Counter-Strike 2 received this major update to craft CS2 knives!

Remember, if you ever need more money for any CS purchase, make sure you head over to Skincashier, where you can instantly sell CS2 skins and cash out your inventory.

What was added in the latest CS2 update?

While the patch itself brought in a lot of changes to the game, some bigger, some smaller, the most shocking change was definitely the CS2 knife crafting.

Trade-up contracts in CS2 were a classic part of the game, allowing players to exchange unwanted CS2 skins into new items by combining a number of skins with the same rarity. Each trade-up contract would reward players with a brand new CS2 weapon skin with one degree of CS2 rarity higher than the skins used in the process. With the new update, players can now obtain knives through the trade-up system, making it possible to acquire high-value cosmetic items like knives and gloves via official in-game mechanics.

In the past, players could only use skins up to the Classified rarity level, resulting in a brand new Covert rarity skin. The latest version of the game introduced a groundbreaking change – players can now craft CS2 knives with a trade-up contract, allowing them to exchange skins to obtain knives.

Check out this video by Anomaly to learn more:

This update marks a significant point for the Counter-Strike franchise, representing a major shift in how players interact with the in-game economy and obtain rare skins.

How to Craft CS2 Knives?

Crafting CS2 knives can be done just like any other trade-up contract in the game, though with slight differences. While you need 10 skins of the same rarity to fulfill a trade-up contract, you only need five covert quality skins to craft a CS2 knife.

To craft a knife in CS2:

1. Go to your CS2 inventory and select the Trade-Up Contract feature
2. Select the five covert quality skins that you want to turn into a knife (remember: you lose the skins utilised in a trade-ups!)
3. Finalize the trade-up contract and receive your free CS2 knife

That’s it! With just five covert quality skins from your inventory you can craft a CS2 knife! Knife trade-ups are a great way to upgrade your inventory for free and turn unwanted covert quality skins into awesome and potentially expensive CS2 knives!

Playing with the new trade-up feature adds an exciting layer to the player experience, making crafting knives more engaging and rewarding.

Can You Trade Knives From Trade-Ups?

Yes, you can buy, trade and sell any CS2 knife that you craft from trade-ups! CS2 knives that you craft are all potentially tradable, but are subject to the same trade restrictions as other items from trade-ups, meaning that they are put into Steam trade hold. This means that after crafting, the item will enter a Steam trade hold period, preventing it from being immediately traded or sold on the market. Once that holding period expires, players are free to sell, trade, or gift the knife as they would with any other CS2 item. It’s an important detail to keep in mind for anyone planning to profit or trade quickly after completing a knife trade-up.

Once crafted, these knives are added directly to your inventory, complete with their assigned CS2 float and wear condition, making each one unique. This has opened up an exciting new way for players to create and own rare knives without relying solely on case openings or external trading platforms.

What Does It Mean for the Skins Market?

The latest update to CS2 has caused a massive shockwave in the CS2 economy. Many players and traders reported their CS2 inventory crashing, and many skins losing their value completely. In the past, knife skins could only be opened from CS2 weapon cases, meaning that there was no way to obtain them without spending real money, which seriously elevated their price. Prices have fluctuated dramatically due to the update, with some items dropping sharply and others spiking unexpectedly.

This has changed with the latest update, allowing players to craft CS2 knives without spending a single dime. While the most expensive CS2 knives, like the Karambit Blue Gem, have reatained their value, most CS2 knives have significantly lost their monetary worth, with some of the most drastic drops reaching thousands of dollars.

While one of the reasons for this update was to make rare skins like CS2 knives and gloves more accessible to an average player, as now anyone with a number of Covert quality skins in their inventory can craft a knife for themselves, with many players who don’ regulary spend money on the game getting their first touch of a CS2 knife. And while the knife trade-ups have significantly affected the game’s economy, not all is lost for CS2 traders. Some players are now investing in skins and cases, hoping to maximize their returns as the market stabilizes.

Covert items and Classified skins have skyrocketed in price, with many of the cheapest CS2 skins rising over $100 in price. That’s because in the past these Covert skins only had a visual and trading value, meaning that if a skin wasn’t popular or attractive to players, it had little to no use, meaning that most players overlooked and ignored these skins. With the latest version of the game every single Covert skin can now be turned into potential CS2 knife, meaning that traders, especially those in China started buying out Covert items en-masse. However, market manipulation has become a concern, as certain trading practices and coordinated buyouts have artificially inflated prices, making it harder for average players to participate.

Likewise, cheapest CS2 cases rose up in price as well. Since every weapon case has a chance to give you covert items, each weapon case can give you a potential material for CS2 knife trade-ups. This in turn has prompted traders to buy out the cheapest CS2 cases to try their luck. To counter the effects of the market crash, some traders are adopting new strategies, such as diversifying their investments and timing their trades more carefully.

Can You Craft StatTrak Knives?

Yes, you can craft StatTrak knives with CS2 trade-ups. Just like any other trade-ups, to craft a StatTrak knife in CS2 all you need is a selection of five different covert StatTrak skins.

Crafting StatTrak knives is easy and can be done just like any other trade-up contract in the game. This new method is a great way to turn unwanted covert skins into a brand new StatTrak CS2 knife, which can easily be worth much, much more than all of the skins used in the trade-up combined.

Remember that the new knife won’t carry over any of the StatTrak kills you racked up during gameplay!

Should I Sell CS2 Knives Now?

Yes, now is the best time to sell CS2 skins! Although the market is going haywire and we’ll only see the full extend of the damage done after all the items clear from the Steam trade hold, it’s now the perfect time to liquidate your items, especially any of the Covert skins that you might have. Many players who sat on a number of red rarity skins have now made thousands of dollars, and you can be the next one to join them.

If you plan to sell CS2 skins, make sure you head over to SkinCashier, where you can instantly sell CS2 skins and cash out your invetory!

What Else Was Added in the Update?

While knife trade-ups are certainly the most shocking and impactful change added to the game in a long time, the update also introduced the retakes game mode, changing the way players play by focusing on post-plant scenarios and skill improvement. The retakes mode encourages players to strike quickly and adapt their strategies, making each round more engaging and competitive. Additionally, certain maps have been adjusted for better gameplay balance and performance. Below you can find an entire list of all the changes added in the latest update:

Gameplay

• Adding Retakes as official game mode supporting Defusal Group Alpha and Defusal Group Delta maps on official matchmaking servers.
• Fixed Molotov and Smoke interaction logic in cases when multiple smokes are active in the map.

Maps

• Updated Golden to the latest version from Steam Community Workshop
• Updated Palacio to the latest version from Steam Community Workshop
• Updated Rooftop to the latest version from Steam Community Workshop
• Inferno
  • Adjustments to top of Quad and under Balcony to improve visibility.
  • Various optimizations.

Trade-ups

• Extended functionality of the “Trade Up Contract” to allow exchanging 5 items of Covert quality as follows:
• 5 StatTrak™ Covert items can be exchanged for one StatTrak™ Knife from a collection of one of the items provided
• 5 regular Covert items can be exchanged for one regular Knife item or one regular Gloves item from a collection of one of the items provided

Miscelaneus

• Performance optimizations when the game is in the main menu and item inspect UI
• Fixed inventory item icons sometimes rendering in blurry state or not rendering
• Fixed several server-only sound events to not start multiple times
• Stability improvements