How do new cases work in CS2 – When do new cases come out?

Everyone can agree that skins look amazing in CS2, but the lack of new cases is starting to make fans worried. A new batch of skins is a great opportunity to jump back into the tactical shooter, and skin creators have gotten very creative with the new Source 2 engine’s tools. Case releases are also Valve’s main method of monetizing the game, holding players over between big Operations.

If you’re a new player looking forward to the next case drop, here’s how case releases work in CS2 and how often you can expect them.

For both Valve and CS2 players, case releases are a big deal. The developer always puts out an official blog post announcing a new case along with previews for the skins. These updates are sudden, and Valve rarely teases or reveals a release date for a case before it drops.

Once the game updates with the new case, the only way to get it is by playing matches on a Premier account. Every week, Premier accounts can level up their profile to pick from an array of random drops. It’s possible to get an older case instead of the new one. If so, the only way to get the new case for free is to wait a week and try again. It’s also possible to purchase them from the Steam Market, but you may hesitate to do so if the case is brand-new.

Lifetime price history for the Revolution Case (Image via Valve)

New CS2 cases tend to sell for a large amount of money, much more than most older cases. For example, the Revoluion Case sold for as much as $40 the day it dropped. The price quickly went down as the supply increased, and the newest CS2 case currently sells for just 50 cents. If you’re lucky enough to get a new case as a drop, it may be wise to sell it rather than try your luck with a key.

As for rarity, Valve keeps case odds consistent between releases. The odds of opening a knife in the original Weapon Case are the same as opening one from a Revolution Case. However, the exact knives included in the case vary wildly, with some being much more valuable than others. 

Since there are no case releases in CS2 yet, we have to look at CSGO’s release schedule to see how often they should come out. 

For CSGO, Valve tended to release a new case every six months on average, though the gap between case releases could be as big as 10 months. Further back, Valve released cases much more often, with five new releases in 2016. It’s important to consider how the development of CS2 impacted case release frequency, so the 2017-2018 release model of three cases a year could be considered standard.

For reference, these are the five most recent new cases with their dates of release.

Revolution Case (Feb. 9, 2023)

Recoil Case (July 1, 2023)

Dreams & Nightmares Case (Jan. 20, 2022)

Snakebite Case (May 3, 2021)

Fracture Case (Aug 6, 2020)

Once the development of CS2 slows down, expect to see new cases around three times a year. If Valve returns to the standard Operation release schedule of once a year, that should mean a new case or Operation every three months.