Image: Valve
The hype behind Counter-Strike 2 is causing players to buy an insane amount of weapon cases.
People have been buying a lot more Counter-Strike: GO weapon cases than usual over the last month, and it looks like the recent reveal of Counter-Strike 2 is behind it all. We’re not talking about a small increase of in-game spending here: CS:GO players opened a whopping 39.5 million weapon cases in March this year, which is a big increase from January’s measly 17.9 million.
In case you’re trying to crunch the numbers on those 39.5 million purchases, let me save you the trouble: that amounts to about $100 million spent on CS:GO cosmetics in one month alone. March also saw almost double the amount of cases opened over February 2023, which ended with 27.7 million cases opened. The amount of cases opened in CS:GO has seen a steady increase of more than 10 million month-over-month since January this year, and we could very well see this trend continue into April.
If you’re wondering just how much money Valve has made off these cases, given that each key is valued at around $2.50 and CS:GO Case Tracker reports that 88.8 million cases have been opened this year already, Valve has made around $222 million from these cases already. If people keep buying cases, CS:2’s financial success is all but assured for the company - not that it was ever in doubt.
In-game purchases aren’t the only thing to skyrocket following CS:2’s announcement. CS:GO players have taken to Reddit to report that the value of their in-game skins have ballooned massively over the last month. Some users claim that their €$170 knife skins are now valued at almost €$1000. Skins that were once sold for $300 are now valued at $3000, leading to some rather mournful sellers voicing out their disbelief over the state of CS:GO’s in-game economy.
The reason players are spending so much on weapon cases and skins in CS:GO is clear as day: all these skins are guaranteed relevance for years to come now that CS:2 is confirmed to retain player inventories. If anything, Counter-Strike skins hold more value than ever thanks to the hype behind the new game launch, and the fact that their owners will soon be able to see them in their shiny new Source 2 duds.
Valve is looking to cultivate the CS:2 esports scene once the game launches this summer, and now we know the company can certainly afford to put on a good show.