SteamDB Database It was revealed on August 7 that there is a modern world-class Steam account that will replace the long-reigning (and somewhat controversial) champion, St4ck.On last broadcastst, Counter-Strike streamer Pixelless I calculated that this user, Stasikhe had to spend over $500,000 to reach level 5,101, and has since managed to enhance that amount to 5,960. Stasik also boasts a number of sporadic Counter-Strike skins, each costing nearly $9,000, including some that have vulgar messages and insults emblazoned on the side via in-game stickers.
If you’re like me, you might be wondering what all this means and why anyone would pay life-changing amounts of money to level up their Steam profile. I’ve had my account for a long time, play a lot of games, but barely interact with Steam as a social media platform, which leaves me at a paltry level of 14. The real meta-power as a player is buying trading card boosters and seasonal badges on Steam to enhance that level.
Which, admittedly, offers no direct practical benefit, but merely a bragging right for the best players. tracked by SteamDB. It reminds me a lot of NFTs, investing cash in a digital token with no material value but with the potential to enter a strange alternative economy. While it largely feels like an absurd form of conspicuous consumption, maintaining a high Steam level also feels like a form of networking, a way to prove you’re a earnest customer amidst Counter-Strike’s insanely exorbitant skin-trading set: “I won’t talk business until you hit level 100.”
OhnePixel typically estimates the value of a profile level on Steam by calculating the cost of purchasing the badges required to reach it. In this case, he roughly estimated Stasik’s value based on what St4ck paid to reach level 5000: $500,000–$700,000. Stasik leveled up his account even further than when ohnePixel checked in, making the total cost even higher—and that’s not counting the value of other items and skins associated with the account.
Speaking of other items and skins, Stasik’s Counter-Strike 2 inventory has a bit of a minefield. Among the many skins worth thousands of dollars is a nearly $9,000 “Factory New” M4A1 Howl with decals on the side that depict a racial slur. In addition to being incredibly disgusting and tasteless, the gesture puts Stasik’s account at risk of a potential lasting community ban, which is an especially absurd move considering the amount of money he’s pumped into the account.
Stasik declined to speak to ohnePixel directly, but he does have a public Steam profile and an Instagram account with nearly 15,000 followers that reference “Discord Kitten” — another user with the username “Начальник пыли” (Russian for “Dust Chief”) — with a matching couple profile that links to Stasik. Both Stasik and his alleged mistress list the United Arab Emirates as their country of residence.
Further, Stasik’s Steam account also refers to another user who has a problem with them and Russian speakers. A later deleted comment, preserved in a video by ohnePixel, Reddit user Formal_Palpitation14 on thread about Stasik’s account offers a potential, though unverified, explanation.
“Now Moneylead has removed/blocked all friends who were friends with Stasik.”
It’s a pretty good story, but I’m not sure I can tell it. draw some critical life lessons from thisI hope these obviously wealthy players, if they are indeed in conflict, learn to give peace a chance, and I also hope they stop badmouthing their Counter-Strike guns.
