According to an analysis, the US software company Valve made around one billion US dollars in sales in 2023 – just with the boxes in Counter-Strike 2.
Which: Valve
But what makes the boxes, also called loot boxes, so special that they lead to such high income? It’s simple: The boxes are randomly handed out to the players and you need a paid key to open them.
However, it is unclear what is hidden in the boxes. You have the chance to get many different skins in different rarity levels. If you want a specific skin, you have to open various boxes to get to your goal. Gambling comparisons are of course obvious.
Those: CS2 Case Tracker
In 2023, about 400 million boxes were opened, according to csgocatracker.com, with a total value of $980 million. The actual business is even bigger. There is also a secondary market. If you pull an existing skin from a box, you can resell it within the community.
Some of these weapon skins are so rare that they are offered at exorbitant prices. The numbers here are sometimes in the six to seven-digit range. This shows how relevant the shooter still is today, despite the initial negative response after the release of Counter-Strike 2.