A YouTube prank targeted at Counter Strike players on April Fool’s cost a ton of Counter-Strike players money. The YouTube prank which can be seen below told players that they could trade covert skins for a random game knife. Counter-Strike: Global Offensive has an in-game store where players can purchase in-game skins with real money. The skins are priced at about $3 a piece, whole knives, are priced at around $40, with some exceeding over $1,000. This makes purchasing 10 covert skins at $3 piece and trading them for a knife an absolute steal.
A user on Reddit by the name of “thesado” broke down the purchases and market changes seen when the prank was in full swing. In about five hours, the prices for skins for these weapons increased ten-fold, and according to thesado, players ponied up over an estimated $53,531 worth of purchases. Thesado breaks down the purchases in a spreadsheet, noting that most players opted for AUG Chameleon skins, with an estimated $38,967 alone spent on the gun. It is estimated that players spent an average of $15, and if the estimate of over $53,000 is true, Valve will receive a cut of the profits at 15%, or roughly, an extra $8,000 due to the prank.
The blame in this situation can be put down to both the video creator and also the gamers who fell for this silly prank on a day that is known for such trickery.
