The community of CS2 skin creators has a sharp contrast: a huge majority basically work for free, and a small percentage makes $100,000 to $400,000 or more per skin they create and gets selected by Valve. This is the hard and cold reality of creating and designing CS skins and items.
Therefore, if you’d like to learn more about how much CS2 skin creators make, and what you can expect if you decide to become a designer yourself, we invite you to read this article. Because we’re going to bring you exclusive insights about one of the most challenging yet profitable jobs in the CS2 economy.
Most CS2 Skin Creators Make $0
The key phrase here is “selected by Valve”. Because unless the company chooses one of your skins, you’ll be making $0.00 USD. Basically, you will be working for free until (if ever) Valve decides to include one or more of the skins you submitted to the Workshop in a new CS2 Case or Collection.
Considering Valve releases only 2 to 3 new cases per year, the chances of getting selected are pretty slim. Because based on this, the company will only select a maximum of 50 skins per year, and considering the thousands of items submitted to the Workshop, there’s a fierce competition out there, making it extremely hard for you to get chosen by the company.
Simply put, the chances of getting one of your skins selected by Valve are as low as your chances of unboxing a CS2 knife skin from a container…. barely 1 in 391… way less than 1%.
However, as we are going to see in the next sections, it’s impossible to increase your chances of getting selected by combining quality and volume, but we’ll talk about it later.
Now you know most skin creators make $0, hence the myth of all skin creators making thousands and thousands of dollars has been debunked.
A Few Chosen CS2 Skin Creators Make $100,000 to $400,000+ per Skin
When you read headlines about CS2 skin creators making 6 figures by creating skins and items for CS:GO, they are talking about a very small group of talented designers, whose work allowed them to get selected by Valve, and of course, some luck as well. Because even talented and experienced designers can spend several months working for free until getting into the radar of the Valve’s team responsible for selecting skins from the Workshop.
They prove it’s possible to make a fortune designing CS2 skins, but as we mentioned before, nothing of this can be possible without getting selected by Valve first.
If your skin gets chosen by Valve, here’s how they will reward you:
- You’ll receive a percentage of the sales of the new case or collection
- You’ll receive a 25% revenue share from the 10% fee charged by Steam for all the sales your skin registers on the marketplace
- You’ll receive a percentage of the sales of keys
And considering Valve obtains over $1B from the sales of cases and keys, it’s easy to see how it’s possible for a creator to get $100,000 to $400,000+ per skin, especially if it’s added to a popular case or collection.
Practical Example on the Profit Brought by an Accepted Skin
Now, let’s use the skin “SSG-08 | Bloodshot” as an example. It was designed by “EGO”, and based on how many of these skins were sold in the last 30 days, it generated a total revenue of $14,000 – here’s how much “EGO” got from this:
- Based on the revenue of $14,000, Steam charge a 10% fee, which means Valve got a total of $1,400 in fees
- Based on the revenue share of 25%, “EGO” should have gotten approximately $350… and this is just for the sales of the skin, and in the last 30 days.
The more popular a skin is, the more money a skin creator will make. And this is why we often hear about creators making $100,000 to $400,000+ or more per skin, and this is in fact, especially if we are talking about a wildly popular case and skin.
This is how popular creators such as “arkodigital”, “cimota”, “EGO”, “Lulu McAllister”, “Apel8”, “Quzga” and “moonfighter” have been able to make thousands over thousands of dollars creating skins, because they were accepted by Valve and added to popular cases and collections such as the Revolution Case.
If you want to learn more about the most successful CS2 skin creators, and how much money they’re making thanks to their accepted submissions, the next section will bring you all the details about it.
Successful Skin Creators with the Most Accepted Skins in CS2
The following creators and designers are the absolute elite, because they have the most accepted skins in CS2, which has allowed them to make a fortune designing skins and items for the game.
We’ll explore each one of their cases, so you can learn more about successful skin creators and how far you could go if you get multiple skins accepted by Valve.
SLIMEFACE
SLIMEFACE is one of the most talented and successful skin creators, because he has managed to get 21 skins accepted by Valve, with over 1,300 submissions to the Workshop. This is a proof of how being able to put out excellent work on the regular is the key to getting more exposure, and hence increase your chances of getting your skins chosen by the company.
The following table shares a list of the most popular skins designed by SLIMEFACE, along with insights about their sales volume in the last 30 days, and how much money SLIMEFACE received as a result.
| Skin | Volume of Sales (Last 30 Days) | Revenue for the Creator |
| AK-47 | Bloodsport | $247,545 | $6,188 |
| Galil-AR | Sugar Rush | $12,147 | $303 |
| P250 | Wingshot | $14,644 | $366 |
| Negev | Dazzle | $4,184 | $104 |
Just using these skins as an example, they bring SLIMEFACE a monthly revenue of over $6,900 USD. And this is just a pretty simple overview, because we need to factor in the percentage of the sales of cases and keys as well, which has allowed the creator to make a killing with each one of his accepted submissions.
Apel8
If we are talking about the most successful skin creators, we cannot dismiss “Apel8”, because he’s famous for designing some of the coolest skins in the game such as the AK-47 | Legion of Anubis, M4A1-S | Nightmare and the AK-47 | Phantom Disruptor, making a total of 34 items accepted by Valve.
Below, you will find insights about the most popular skins designed by Apel8, and how much money they bring to him every single month.
| Skin | Volume of Sales (Last 30 Days) | Revenue for the Creator |
| AK-47 | Legion of Anubis | $255,882 | $6,397 |
| M4A1-S | Nightmare | $162,071 | $4,051 |
| AK-47 | Phantom Disruptor | $158,811 | $3,970 |
| Zeus x27 | Olympus | $253,041 | $6,326 |
Thanks to these four skins designed by “Apel8”, he makes a total of $20,744 per month, which is an outstanding feat. Because in terms of earnings, “Apel8” is in the top percentile, thanks to his magnificent and popular creations.
Just based on this, it’s easy to see how much money a successful skin creator can win, especially if they manage to submit items that get wildly popular. Because the more sales they make on the Steam Marketplace, the more money the creator will make thanks to the revenue share deal.
Coridium
“Coridum” was the designer that created the famous Asiimov skins, and they are responsible for bringing plenty of revenue to Steam and him, thanks to the revenue share program. And the table below will share his most famous and profitable submissions accepted by Valve.
| Skin | Volume of Sales (Last 30 Days) | Revenue for the Creator |
| AK-47 | Asiimov | $434,780 | $10,869 |
| AK-47 | Neon Revolution | $186,870 | $4,671 |
| AWP | Asiimov | $210,804 | $5,270 |
| P90 | Asiimov | $55,481 | $1,387 |
Thanks to these four skins, “Coridum” gets a revenue share of $22,197 every month. This is another strong reminder on how important the popularity of skins is, and it’s the difference between making a few grands per skin and breaking through the $100,000-$400,000 barrier.
And we are not adding the share from the sales of cases and keys, which surely adds a few more grands to the total.
G-99Factory
The famous creator of the CZ75 | Polymer, G-99 Factory is responsible for creating 11 skins in total, and the following table will break down how much revenue they generate to Steam and himself.
| Skin | Volume of Sales (Last 30 Days) | Revenue for the Creator |
| CZ75-Auto | Polymer | $2,135 | $53.37 |
| Dual Berettas | Elite 1.6 | $2,418 | $60.45 |
The revenue generated by his other skins are similar. They’re popular with hundreds of sales per month, yet they’re pretty cheap and hence the low revenue for Steam and himself. It is what it is, and another proof of how there are no guarantees of reaching high earnings as a designer.
By comparing these four talented creators, you can also see how their earnings differ. Some of them are banking hard every month because their skins picked up in popularity and also appreciated in value, whereas others remain cheap, such as the items designed by G-99Factory.
We’re not taking into account the revenue brought by the sales of cases and keys, but the sales of skins are enough to see which creators are doing the best.
Quality, Volume and Luck
It’s better to create 1-2 decent skins per month than invest more than 2 months creating the “perfect skin”. Quality comes first, for sure, but it needs to go hand to hand with volume, so you can get enough “shots” at getting selected by Valve.
Because Valve will select up to 50 skins per year from the Workshop, you need to get enough exposure, and you can only accomplish it by putting out excellent work on the regular. It’s easier said than done, but this should be your end goal.
Evidently, if you are a total beginner, it will take you up to 2-3 months of hard work to design your first skin worth of getting selected by Valve. However, as you progress and accumulate experience, it will become easier for you, allowing you to design 1-2 or more worthy skins every month.
Even though the odds of getting selected are similar to unboxing a CS:GO knife from a CS2 case, this is not totally random. You can put the odds in your favor by putting in the work and designing a large portfolio of skins and items. This will take serious dedication and energy, but it will pay off if you get chosen by Valve.
Let’s talk about “SLIMEFACE” as an example. He has over 1,300 skins added to the Workshop, which has allowed him to get 21 submissions accepted by Valve as a result, so it’s a conversion rate of 1.60% approximately… 6x times higher than the currently advertised success rate of 0.26% for the majority of skin creators and designers.
This is the power of producing great skins on the regular. Volume will be a strong ally here, as it’s one of the factors that will move the needle, and hence, increase your chances of getting selected by Valve.
No Guarantees
We like to be optimistic, but we also have to be realists… and hence we need to remind you that there are no guarantees Valve will ever select any of the skins you submit to the Workshop. No matter how cool they look or how many you submit, there are no guarantees.
Therefore, you shouldn’t just go all in on creating skins with the hope of making millions, because the chances of it happening are pretty slim. You should invest your time and dedication into it, but forget about quitting your job or not building other income streams in the meanwhile.
Because even if you get selected by Valve, there are no guarantees your skin will be massively popular or sell at a high price. It is what it is, and you should be aware of all of this before venturing into designing and creating skins for the Workshop.
Final Words
Now you have exclusive insights about how much CS2 skin creators earn, and the hard reality of this activity. Because you can win a lot of money, or you can earn none, and it all depends on getting selected by Valve, and hoping your skins get enough traction to accrue enough revenue, so you can get your share.