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The Most Popular CS2 Skins (October 2023)

Spooky season is upon us, and with CS2 now well and truly released we’ve seen the skins market settle a little bit. Will these factors influence our list of the most popular CS2 skins for October of 2023? Let’s find out!

Related reading: How To Buy CS2 Skins

The List

For this list, we have combined sales and trade data from CS.Money. This is one of the most popular skin trading websites in the world, so we feel like this accurately represents the current vibe among CS2 skins enthusiasts.

We only list skins that are worth $10 or more. This is done because the top 10 otherwise consists of ‘lootbox filler’ skins, and we feel like the $10 price point is a good starting point for skins enthusiasts who just want to buy a couple of cool playskins without spending a fortune.

1. AK-47 Redline (Field Tested)

Average price: 19 USD (on Steam Community Market)

The AK Redline is an all-time classic, and it’s no surprise to see it pop up on our lists so regularly. It’s the first skin that many people flock to when they first want to buy new CS2 skins, and its stable price also makes it a very liquid skin that can, in a pinch, be used as currency in trades.

The Redline is subtle, but it is also unmistakably a custom skin: the wooden parts have been replaced by carbon fiber-looking materials, giving the whole AK a futuristic, yet realistic look. The small but tasteful red accents give it a pop of color and flair that a completely black AK such as the Slate simply doesn’t offer. It also makes the AK Redline a great weapon to craft on if you have some stickers with red in them.

The AK Redline is not the flashiest skin out there, nor is it the most prestigious AK skin, but if you want to use an all-time classic that’s not too shouty with its appearance then this is one of the finest skins to go for.

2. AK-47 Asiimov (Field Tested)

Average price: 33 USD (on Steam Community Market)

The Asiimov line of skins might be past its peak when it comes to popularity and usage in the pro scene, but it’s still well-loved among skins enthusiasts. If you want to get into the Asiimov ecosystem and you don’t want to cough up over $150 for an M4A4 Asiimov with a good float (see: CS2 Float Values Explained) then the AK Asiimov is a great choice.

This is one of the original high tier Counter-Strike skins, and its interesting color palette of blacks mixed with whites and oranges makes for a rather unique skin. It’s futuristic, sure, but it also gives off a bit of a nostalgic vibe due to the colors that were chosen. In that sense, the name has been perfectly chosen. Isaac Asimov was one of the founding fathers of modern sci-fi, writing tons of science fiction works in the second half of the 20th century.

This retrofuturistic AK is less popular than its M4A4 counterpart, but that also makes it a lot more affordable, so if you’re into this kind of aesthetic then it’s a real steal.

3. AK-47 Legion of Anubis (Field Tested)

Average price: 10 USD (on Steam Community Market)

If the Legion of Anubis would’ve been part of the Anubis collection rather than a drop in a case that’s been opened a ton, it would cost thousands of dollars and be regarded as an iconic skin. It’s a bold statement, and we’ll of course never know if this is true or not, but we do really feel that the Legion of Anubis is an underrated skin.

The details on this skin are magnificent, from the beautiful golden top portion of the rifle to the darker, eerie depths that you find on the magazine. There are hieroglyphs on the handguard, the grip is finished beautifully, and the screws have been made gold to match the royal aesthetics of the skin.

If you’re a fan of Egyptian mythology you owe it to yourself to get this skin, and even if you’re not interested in those kinds of things at all you should check this one out. It’s a true work of art and the fact that you can use this skin for less than $15 is quite simply amazing.

4. Desert Eagle Printstream (Field Tested)

Average price: 46 USD (on Steam Community Market)

The Printstream collection might just be the most hyped collection of weapon skins in Counter-Strike at the moment. It’s being used by a ton of professionals, and regular players also seem to absolutely love it.

Despite the fact that Printstream skins are still a work in progress in CS2 (the pearlescent effect isn’t properly working right now, but the creator is working hard on fixing this) it doesn’t stop them from being bought en masse, and this Desert Eagle coming in at the fourth spot in our list is a fine example of that.

If you like clean, monochromatic skins with a touch of extra flair then you’ll love the Printstream, and as an added bonus it’s likely to get even better as time goes on since the pearlescent effect still needs to be implemented properly.

This skin is already iconic, and even though it’s the most expensive skin in this article (at the time of writing) it’s well worth the money for a lot of people, even in its current state. We can’t wait to see what this one looks like in a couple of months.

5. M4A1-S Decimator (Field Tested)

Average price: 15 USD (on Steam Community Market)

The M4A1-S Decimator had a massive glow-up in CS2. It’s now a lot shinier than it was in CS:GO, and that shine perfectly matches the futuristic, synthwave-style design that it has. The bright blues and pinks of the Decimator now pop a lot more, and whereas the Decimator was arguably a little underwhelming in CS:GO we would definitely encourage you to give it a second chance in CS2.

This skin combines nicely with a variety of holo stickers, and you can make some awesome crafts with it due to the fact that the front portion of the Decimator is grey/black. Putting a cool sticker there can really make it seem like it’s a part of the actual design, so if you like these Tron types of vibes or you’re building a neon-themed loadout then this skin is a must.

6. AK-47 Neon Revolution (Field Tested)

Average price: 17 USD (on Steam Community Market)

This gun would be right at home in a Suicide Squad film or game. The extremely bright and flashy pinks mixed with the toxic greens make this very much a ‘love it or hate it’ type of skin, but if you’re into this kind of aesthetic then the Neon Revolution has everything you want, right down to the fact that the word ‘ANARCHY’ is written on it with paint so that people definitely don’t get the wrong ideas about you.

If you want to stick it to the man with an AK that looks like someone went to town on it with various buckets of paint then this is the one for you.

7. AK-47 Frontside Misty (Field Tested)

Average price: 15 USD (on Steam Community Market)

The AK Frontside Misty is a rather unassuming type of gun skin if you ask us. It’s not the flashiest when it comes to colors or design. It’s also not very popular in the pro scene and it doesn’t really fall into one design category (synthwave, mythology, …) like some of the other skins.

If you like recognizable and intricate designs with tons of details and little easter eggs then the Frontside Misty should be skipped, but it’s a cool skin for someone who wants to use a custom gun skin with a blue/white color scheme without spending a fortune on something like a Vulcan.

8. AK-47 Legion of Anubis (Minimal Wear)

Average price: 14 USD (on Steam Community Market)

This is the Minimal Wear version of the Legion of Anubis that we discussed earlier in the article. If you’re not familiar with skin conditions, you can read our article: CS2 Skin Conditions Explained.

9. AK-47 Nightwish (Field Tested)

Average price: 16 USD (on Steam Community Market)

It’s spooky season, making the AK Nightwish a logical addition to the list. This is a rather new AK skin that initially seemed to go by without making much of an impact on the skins scene, but lately it seems like the skin has found its way into the hands of more and more players.

The very colorful design reminds us of old-timey witchcraft rituals, something that’s only exaggerated by the monstrous face in the middle of the gun. The colors look fantastic in the much more vibrant CS2, which might explain the rise of this skin, but it might also simply be a skin that people needed to warm up to.

Not all skins become super popular immediately: the Butterfly Knife, which is now the most expensive knife in the entire game, used to be a mid tier knife that was outpriced by the likes of the Bayonet, so you never know what the future brings.

If you like colors and busy designs, this one needs to be on your list.

10. AWP Neo-Noir (Field Tested)

Average price: 25 USD (on Steam Community Market)

The AWP Neo-Noir is a regular on this list, and we love that. It’s a very clean looking skin due to the white, black, and pink scope, and underneath that is a work of art that reminds us of Sin City and high quality graphic novels.

The Neo-Noir is one of the best mid tier AWP skins if you ask us, and if you like this type of artwork then you can compliment it with a ton of other Neo-Noir skins such as the M4A4 Neo-Noir, the USP-S Neo-Noir, and the Glock-18 Neo-Noir.

The sheer fact that this Neo-Noir design is found on so many guns is a testament to how popular it is, and for good reason. This is a high quality skin with great artwork that can be bought for very friendly prices.

Spooktober has just passed, but we’ve seen no scary surprises in this list. The AK Nightwish makes its entry, which is topical given the season we’re in, but other than that we’re seeing a ton of skins that we’ve seen before.

As usual, the list is filled with the most popular weapons, and that makes sense. People who want to buy a skin aren’t going to buy a Negev skin since that weapon almost never gets used in an actual match, so we’re mostly seeing the meta guns in here.

As far as the finishes go there’s a little something for everyone. From loud and pink skins to subtle, understated rifles that are mostly black: you’re sure to find something that suits your preferences.

Check back in December to see if there were any big surprises during this month!

Lars
Reviews, Community, FPS

Former semi-pro gamer turned writer, product reviewer, and community manager.

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