Why Is The Butterfly Knife So Expensive in CS2?

CS2 has a lot of expensive skins, and sometimes, an in-game cosmetic may cost you as much as a car. But even among this premium category, knives still stand out due for their extremely high prices. Balisong, also known as butterfly knife, is easily the most desirable knife in the game, and its skins have prices to match this title. 

Usually, a butterfly knife skin will cost you around 600 dollars, but especially rare and popular options can cost tens of thousands of dollars. Players who know little about how pricing works in Counter-Strike may be impressed with these price tags, but real connoisseurs know where the juice is. So, why is the butterfly knife the most expensive melee in CS2? Let’s find out why gamers are crazy for the thin green blade and are ready to hand over more than $19,000 for it.

Reason 1: Cool animations

Let's be honest, the main deciding factor in why butterfly knives are so expensive in CS2 is their style. This weapon has a fancy look and some unique animations. The average player probably won't dive into the pattern types unless they plan on selling the skin, but being able to twirl the knife in their hands will definitely make them squeal with joy.

Butterfly knives have a total of three different inspect animations and two different draw animations. If you possess such a weapon, confidence comes naturally, and where there is confidence, there is victory.

Reason 2: Rarity and Demand

Here’s the most obvious and sound answer to why is the butterfly knife so expensive: it is incredibly difficult to obtain. Valve have added only five cases that contain balisong to the game:

1. Operation Breakout Weapon Case;
2. Spectrum Case;
3. Spectrum 2 Case;
4. Operation Riptide Case;
5. Dreams & Nightmares Case.

Getting a case like these is already quite a task, and you may well get skins for other weapons, even if you open hundreds of them. To add even more value to butterfly knives, the cases contain exclusive finishes like Gamma Dopplers from Riptide and Dreams & Nightmares cases of Marble Fades from Spectrums. Even if you just seek particular skin for a butterfly knife, you’ll already have trouble getting it, let alone specific patterns. Therefore, people are willing to pay extra to get the knife with the finish they want. After all, it’s a free market where supply and demand dictate the rules.

Reason 3: Unique patterns

Even if you've never played CS, you've probably heard about Blue Gems, Green Emeralds, and Black Pearls. All of these are unique patterns of particular skin lines (knives and weapons), and each can cost you quite a fortune. However, the incredible rarity of butterfly knives makes the situation even more dire. Players just don't have enough rare patterns for them to be available on the market with any consistency.

So, the answer to the question, “Why are butterfly knives so expensive in Counter-Strike 2?” is simple in this case—the more unique the color, the more the skin costs. After all, having a knife like Blue Gem is like having a Rolls-Royce. When you know that the weapon is the only one of its kind in the world, any price can easily become acceptable.