The fact thatCounter-Strike 2is going to support all the cosmetics and customization options available toCS:GOplayers has sent many fans into a case-opening frenzy, with almost 40 million skin cases opened in a month. As a comprehensive set of upgrades to its predecessor,CS2aims to retain virtually everything that players have earned over the past couple of years, which also means many are using this opportunity to stock up on goodies ahead of its release.
After Valve announced thatCounter-Strike 2is realand due to launch in the summer of 2023 as aCS:GOreplacement, many fans were uncertain what exactly this meant for their favorite game. Instead of scrapping everything that madeGOwork and starting anew, however, Valve is taking the opposite approach, essentially setting upCS2as a 2.0 version of the classic competitive shooter.
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With an all-newCounter-Strikegame on the way that fully supports any and all skins that were released over the years, theCS:GOcommunity jumped on the opportunity to open as many skin cases as humanly possible throughout March. TheCS:GOCase Tracker website reports that players collectively opened roughly 39.5 million skin cases in March 2023, marking a new record in this particular category. It’s difficult to say how much money must have gone into opening all these cases, but estimates put it at over $100 million in total.
CS:GOhas been breaking record after recordfollowing the announcement ofCounter-Strike 2. Valve’s announcement of the game was, in fact, rather tame compared to the majority of other contemporary game announcements. With just a few short videos, the company behind Steam made it clear what its intention for the future ofCounter-Strikewas, and it seems that the community is highly receptive to it.
While some players are sure to be opening theirCS:GOcases to use the unlocked skins, others may be planning to sell them instead.CS:GOskin prices skyrocketedafterCounter-Strike 2was announced. Those who had been sitting on particularly rare skins or cases suddenly had the opportunity to flip them at a high price, and this is bound to have been a factor for the newly broken record.
Depending on how successful the game ends up being,Counter-Strike 2may kickstart Valve sequelsat long last. Fans of franchises such asHalf-Life,Portal, andTeam Fortresshave gone for years without any major new developments, and it’s possible thatCS2may begin a new phase for the company behind Steam. Whether that ends up being the case in the end, however, is anyone’s guess.
Counter-Strike 2launches Summer 2023 on PC.
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