Valve has released the Stickers for the IEM Cologne 2026 Major, but without the classic stickers capsules that Counter-Strike players are used to.
Players will now purchase stickers directly through the ‘2026 Cologne Major Shop,’ taking Counter-Strike another step away from the randomized case and capsule opening that has been the backbone of its financial model for over a decade.
Sticker demands over $1,000 in the new system
Instead of capsules, players will now have to buy tokens (minimum 100, which is $0.99 USD) in order to then redeem items.
The price of the stickers is variable, depending on demand. Therefore, the most highly sought-after stickers will end up being the most expensive.
At the time of writing, the most desired sticker is the donk gold sticker, demanding 122,972 tokens, or an eyewatering $1,217.42.
When explaining the decision to directly offer stickers, Valve explained, “We’ve heard feedback that players might prefer to purchase stickers directly. Additionally, players in certain regions cannot purchase sticker capsules. So we’re exploring alternatives that allow all players to participate.
The list of countries where case opening is either banned or circumvented through the X-ray mechanic has grown, with the Netherlands, Germany, and Belgium banning or restricting the practice in recent months.
Valve is also under significant legal pressure surrounding cases in the United States, facing lawsuits in New York and Washington State that seek to include loot boxes under existing gambling legislation.
The recent Terminals added to the game have also removed the traditional loot box element, instead prompting players to directly buy the skins they are offered.
Therefore, Stickers are simply yet another shift away from Counter-Strike’s randomized model as pressure grows around the nature of loot boxes and mystery capsules.
Souvenirs can now be traded up after the Souvenir-O-Matic was introduced
In another shift, Valve announced that Souvenir skins would also shift. With players now offering their skins to the Souvenir-O-Matic, which will convert the skin to a Souvenir skin representing a completed match.
The process also costs tokens, with the rate depending on the demand for the gold team stickers, the autograph stickers involved, and the rarity of the skin.
The change means that Souvenir skins are closer to regular skins in the game files, meaning Souvenir skins can now be traded up for non-Souvenir skins.
Previously, low-tier Souvenir skins were essentially worthless as they were a dead end; they could not be traded up, therefore, they would stay bad forever, making them some of the cheapest items in the game.
Now players can trade up 10 of those skins for a higher-tier item in the collection of the traded-up skins, giving low-tier souvenirs at least some value.
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Darragh is an Esports Journalist for Insider Gaming specialising in Counter-Strike. He loves to explore how esports teams work, or why they very often do not.
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