Top 5 CS Skin Collections: Legendary Designs Everyone Knows
Over the course of more than a decade, the CS skin industry has grown to immense proportions, involving huge sums of money. Today, we’ll focus not on the money, but on the creative side of things. While money certainly plays a role in this story, we want to highlight the designers who have made skin creation a significant part of their lives, rather than just a fleeting way to make money. These individuals have created art that extends far beyond the Counter-Strike community. Their ideas are used in the creation of peripherals, clothing, accessories, and other areas.
5. Cyrex
- M4A1-S | Cyrex — $19.66 – $46.46
- SCAR-20 | Cyrex — $38.07 – $77.90
- SG 553 | Cyrex — $3.26 – $16.95
- USP-S | Cyrex — $0.96 – $3.19
The first skin in this series appeared in 2014 as part of the “Huntsman Collection” released with the “The Hunt Begins” update. The art is quite minimalistic, featuring only three colors without any extensive imagery. This collection owes its popularity to the M4A1-S. A distinctive feature of this counter-terrorist rifle is the presence of the counter-terrorist model, which has been an unchanging in-game icon for over 20 years. From the second skin onwards, the collection gained its audience, and users began voting for other models by the author in the Steam workshop. Previously, VALVE paid special attention to this aspect, and highly liked works in the workshop had a much higher chance of being added to the game. The skin’s author is Nextgenz, who has developed more than 600 different in-game items for Counter-Strike. In addition to Cyrex, he can boast skins like AK-47 | Nightwish and USP-S | Monster Mashup.
The main question is whether this collection will continue, given that the last skin was released in 2016. Chances are slim because the sales of each skin continue to decline annually, indicating that interest in the collection is rapidly fading.
4. Printstream
- M4A1-S | Printstream — $127.23 – $551.43
- USP-S | Printstream — $24.72 – $128.20
- Desert Eagle | Printstream — $28.57 – $104.08
Let’s reveal a secret upfront: this is the newest collection in today’s top five. The first skin in this color scheme appeared in 2020 and, to some extent, made a real revolution in CS skin design. The end result caused a real furor, and the developers added weapons with similar coloring to every subsequent case. To understand what kind of “revolution” we’re talking about, you definitely need to look at any of the devices in the game. In addition to the cool contrast of the main white color and the futuristic black elements, the skin has a unique pearlescent effect. Depending on the brightness in different areas of the map, the weapon changes color and can become almost completely purple. Before this, such effects could only be seen on holographic stickers, but this shimmer is still fundamentally different.
If it weren’t for the novelty of this collection, it would probably take the highest place in the top. The skin’s author, JTPNZ, already has almost every weapon in this color scheme in his workshop, and there is no doubt that we will see one of them in a new case or collection soon. Each of the skins has been awarded Covert quality, confirming VALVE’s sympathy for this series, as this is not seen in any other collections.
3. Neo-Noir
- AWP | Neo-Noir — $22.73 – $39.70
- Glock-18 | Neo-Noir — $7.86 – $63.40
- USP-S | Neo-Noir — $13.43 – $41.91
- M4A4 | Neo-Noir — $4.42 – $36.81
One of the longest-running skin series, as the last skin was added to the game at the end of 2021. It should also be noted that the art is applied to the most popular weapons that everyone has to play with. You can make a full set of these skins, and it won’t be a boring repeat, as the design is unique on all weapons. The first M4A4 appeared in 2017, and its design can be considered slightly simple, but the following works became more meticulous and extensive. Entire stories began to appear in the usual images, where a girl with long hair became the main character. It was she who attracted the audience’s love for this series of skins. Besides the extremely high-quality drawing, the skin gained popularity thanks to the pleasant colors, which are quite rare in the design of Counter-Strike items. The idea of combining noir comics with neon 90s vibes appealed to many, and the items themselves are often found on servers or in players’ inventories.
2. Hyper Beast
- AWP | Hyper Beast — $12.92 – $162.67
- Five-SeveN | Hyper Beast — $26.96 – $130.96
- M4A1-S | Hyper Beast — $21.87 – $101.79
- Nova | Hyper Beast — $13.80 – $36.80
The recognizable “Hyper Beast” design is primarily due to the cool and non-obvious combination of different shades of orange, magenta, blue, and green. In addition to the crazy color combination, the main concept of the skin revolves around images of beasts and monsters. The art became so popular that many various attributes with these beasts can be found, even those not related to Counter-Strike. A funny fact is that the Five-SeveN is one of the most expensive skins in this series, but this is only due to its presence in the rare “Operation Hydra” case from which you can get a butterfly knife. It’s hard to say whether we will see more skins from this collection because it feels like the design is slightly outdated over the past 9 years and is not as relevant. Weapons in this color scheme are treated as a deserved veteran of the industry and are kept in inventory as a memory of the emerging CS era.
1. Asiimov
- AK-47 | Asiimov — $25.12 – $234.68
- AWP | Asiimov — $89.18 – $156.14
- M4A4 | Asiimov — $72.24 – $165.43
- P90 | Asiimov — $5.65 – $41.35
- P250 | Asiimov — $1.72 – $18.93
A truly legendary collection, which, unlike some, not only does not lose its relevance but also gets better, like fine wine. The simplest color combination without any drawing, which doesn’t even change depending on the weapon. Having such a skin in your inventory is a must for every collector because it’s like a “white shirt with a black tie” in a real gentleman’s wardrobe. The series’ history begins in 2014, and the skin’s author, Coridium, has opened an entire design studio for creating in-game items for various games. His personal Steam account lists more than 20 accepted works in Counter-Strike, which is probably the most successful indicator in the community. If you want to start your path in skin creation, you definitely need to familiarize yourself with his works. This guy found the key not only to players’ hearts but, most importantly, to the developers’ tastes.