Valve announces a $1 million 'CS:GO' art contest

Valve is on the lookout for new Counter-Strike: Global Offensive weapon skins, and it's hoping to entice creators to submit designs with a $1 million art contest. The company will select 10 original, dream-themed looks. The creators of the winning designs will each receive $100,000 and the skins will be added to the game.

Today we are announcing the CS:GO Dreams & Nightmares Workshop contest; a $1M CS:GO art contest looking for 10 original dream or nightmare-themed weapon finishes to be shipped in an upcoming case. More information here: https://t.co/mdmInLmUJk pic.twitter.com/y8KgyV46Q1

— CS:GO (@CSGO) July 21, 2021

You can send in as many designs as you like and create them either solo or as part of a team. You can also have multiple winning skins.

Artists will still own the rights to their creations — sending in an entry gives Valve a non-exclusive license to use it in CS:GO. You'll have until October 21st to submit your designs to the CS:GO Workshop. You'll need to use a Steam account that's in good standing (i.e. it hasn't been limited in any way) which has made at least $5 of Steam purchases. Valve will contact the winners by November 21st.

This is a neat contest with potentially life-changing prizes. The Steam Workshop has been around for a decade. It allows players to upload mods, maps and items for a variety of games — including weapon skins for CS:GO.

"Over five million content creators have submitted and published over 20 million new items for a variety of games on Steam, making them available for purchase to millions of gamers around the world," Valve said. "And, as everyone who plays these games knows — including CS players — many of the most iconic in-game items, maps, and more have been authored by members of the community. The Dreams & Nightmares Content Contest is designed to help further support this community."