Stickers Skins

How CS2 stickers work

Stickers are cosmetic items you apply to weapon skins – each weapon has four sticker slots. Once applied, a sticker becomes part of that weapon; scraping it gradually fades it until it's gone. Stickers come from capsules: regular capsules contain community designs, while tournament capsules are released during CS2 Majors with team logos, player autographs and event-specific art. An AK-47 Redline with four iBUYPOWER Katowice 2014 Holos is worth tens of thousands more than a clean one.

Sticker variants

Every tournament sticker comes in multiple variants, each with a different effect and price:

The variant sets the price floor. A Paper Natus Vincere Cologne 2026 might cost $0.10; the Gold version of the same sticker, $30–$40.

Why Katowice 2014 stickers are so expensive

Katowice 2014 was the first CS:GO Major with stickers. The player base was small, very few capsules were bought, and supply is permanently low – dropping every year as stickers get applied or lost in banned accounts. A Titan Holo Katowice 2014 has sold for over $80,000; an iBUYPOWER Holo trades in a similar range; even mid-tier team Holos command $2,000–$10,000. No other tournament set comes close – Katowice 2015 Holos ($200–$2,000) are the next tier.

Major tournament sticker timeline

The general rule: older means rarer means more expensive. But specific tournaments carry premiums based on memorable moments, team disbandments and player retirements.

How to apply and remove stickers

Applying: open your inventory, select a sticker, click "Apply Sticker," then choose the weapon and one of four slots. Once applied, the sticker is permanently part of that weapon.

Removing (scraping): each scrape makes the sticker more transparent until it's destroyed. You cannot peel a sticker off and return it to your inventory – applying an expensive sticker to a cheap skin effectively destroys most of its standalone value.

Value on weapons: applied stickers typically add 5–15% of their standalone value to a weapon's price. The exception: crafted combinations (4x identical Holos on a matching skin) can sell for 20–30% because collectors pay a premium for aesthetics.

Tournament stickers as investments

Capsules are available only during a Major (usually 2–3 weeks); afterward Valve removes them and supply is locked. Prices typically dip 30–60% in the weeks after a Major as people sell, then recover over 6–18 months as supply tightens. Gold and Holo variants recover fastest because fewer were opened.