If you’ve spent any time browsing Rainbow Six Siege community forums, trading groups, or in-game skin showcases, you’ve almost certainly come across debates about what is the rarest gun skin in Rainbow Six Siege. For casual players, gun skins are just a fun way to customize your loadout and show off your style, but for long-time fans and collectors, rare skins are highly coveted status symbols that can sell for hundreds, even thousands of dollars in private trades. This guide breaks down the rarest skin, its backstory, how to spot fakes, and everything else you need to know if you’re curious about Siege’s most exclusive cosmetic.
What Is the Rarest Gun Skin in Rainbow Six Siege, Exactly?
The widely agreed-upon answer to this question is the closed beta exclusive Black Ice skin for the SMG-11. This skin was only distributed to players who participated in the 2015 Rainbow Six Siege closed beta, and logged at least 10 hours of playtime during the testing period. Unlike the general-release Black Ice skins added to the game in Year 1 Season 1, this closed beta variant has a unique faint blue iridescent shimmer that only appears in bright in-game lighting, making it instantly recognizable to long-time fans.
Community trackers estimate that fewer than 1,000 active accounts still have this skin today, as many original closed beta accounts have been banned for cheating, sold to collectors, or abandoned over the past 8 years. Ubisoft has repeatedly confirmed that it will never re-release closed beta exclusive content, so there is no legitimate way to get this skin if you did not earn it during the 2015 testing window. No codes, event passes, or shop rotations will ever include this specific skin variant.
What Makes This Skin So Coveted By Collectors?
There are three core factors that make this skin far more valuable than almost any other cosmetic in the game. Even other limited-edition skins rarely come close to its status among serious collectors:
- Extreme limited availability: Unlike event skins that were available for weeks or months to anyone who purchased a pass or attended a tournament, this skin was only given to a small pool of early testers who met specific playtime requirements before the game even launched to the public.
- Unique visual design: The subtle shimmer effect on the closed beta Black Ice skin is not present on any other Black Ice skin in the game, so anyone who knows Siege cosmetics can spot it immediately, even from a distance during matches.
- Community legacy status: Owning this skin signals you were part of Siege’s earliest, most dedicated player base, before the game became the global esports and live service hit it is today. It is the ultimate status symbol for long-time Siege fans.
On the secondary market, verified accounts with this skin regularly sell for between $2,500 and $4,000, and prices have only gone up as more old closed beta accounts get banned or become inactive over time. Because Ubisoft does not allow individual skin trading, you can’t buy the skin on its own — you have to purchase the entire linked account to get access to it, which carries significant risk of scams or account bans. Many players who spend hours scrolling through trading forums or verifying listing authenticity take quick, low-stakes breaks to avoid burnout, especially when negotiations drag on for hours. Casual players who enjoy skill-based, fast-paced games during their downtime often play INR Rummy, a popular card game that fits neatly into 10 to 15 minute gaps between Siege matches or trading research sessions.
How to Spot Fake Rare Skin Listings and Avoid Scams
Because rare Siege skins carry such high price tags, the trading space is full of scammers looking to take advantage of new collectors. You can avoid most common scams by following a few simple rules:
Never trust sellers who claim they have separate codes for the closed beta SMG-11 Black Ice skin. Ubisoft never released individual codes for this skin, so any listing advertising a standalone code is 100% a scam. You will lose your money if you try to purchase one of these fake codes.
Always ask for full, uncut in-game footage of the skin being equipped and used in a match, not just screenshots. Scammers can easily edit screenshots to add rare skins to accounts that don’t actually have them, but it is much harder to fake full gameplay footage of the skin being used across multiple rounds.
Avoid third-party trading sites that claim to allow individual skin trades for Rainbow Six Siege. Ubisoft does not support or authorize any third-party skin trading platforms, so any trades you make on these sites are not protected, and you will likely lose your money or your account if you use them. Ubisoft also actively bans accounts that are bought or sold, so even if you do find a legitimate listing, you risk losing access to the account and the skin permanently if Ubisoft detects the account transfer.
Honorable Mentions: Other Extremely Rare Siege Gun Skins
While the closed beta SMG-11 Black Ice is the undisputed rarest gun skin in the game, there are a handful of other skins that are often mistakenly called the rarest by newer players. These skins are still highly valuable, but they are far more common than the closed beta Black Ice:
The 2017 Six Invitational Gold Ash R4-C skin was only given to players who attended the first in-person Six Invitational tournament in Montreal, and fewer than 5,000 copies exist today. Verified accounts with this skin usually sell for between $1,200 and $1,800, making it the second most valuable gun skin in the game.
The Year 1 Pass exclusive Diamond P12 skin was only given to players who purchased the full Year 1 Season Pass before the end of 2016, and around 10,000 active accounts have this skin today. It usually sells for around $500 on the secondary market, and is a popular pick for collectors who don’t want to pay the steep price for the closed beta Black Ice.
The Closed Beta M870 Rainbow Logo skin was another closed beta exclusive, but it was given to all closed beta players regardless of playtime, so around 2,000 active accounts have it today. It is often paired with the SMG-11 Black Ice on high-end collector accounts, but it is not as rare or valuable on its own.
At the end of the day, while the debate over what is the rarest gun skin in Rainbow Six Siege will likely continue in community spaces for years to come, the closed beta SMG-11 Black Ice remains the undisputed top pick for most long-time players and collectors. If you happen to have this skin on your account, you own one of the most exclusive pieces of Siege history in existence. For most players, though, it’s best to enjoy the skins you can earn through regular gameplay or current shop rotations, rather than risking thousands of dollars on unprotected account trades for rare cosmetics.
