Since the last update, not every player can get crates anymore. We show you how the system works.
Crates are a random reward for players after each game. In the past, they were usually only worth a few cents and were either opened or collected dust on accounts. But now a real hype has developed around the Lootboxes. Why?
In recent years, anyone who received a weapon box after a match might have been briefly happy about the three to ten cents and then continued playing. However, due to the constantly high number of players and the drop system, many boxes are now worth considerably more.
The reasons for the hype
Since the third of June, only players who have an account with Prime status can drop boxes. Since that very update, you also have to pay 12.75 euros for this status. Among other things, this prevents Valve from having huge bot networks on the CS:GO servers just to farm the crates. This means that there will be fewer crates in total in the future.
The second reason is the drop system itself. There is the regular pool, which contains the five most recent crates. It is very likely that you will get such a box from your regular drops. Accordingly, they are usually worth little. However, if new Lootboxes with new skins are released, the older ones fall out of this pool.
Thus, they end up in the so-called “rare cases” pool. It is extremely rare that you get such a box by chance. Even the most active players are only lucky enough to receive one of these cases every six months. Accordingly, these cases are very coveted.
Example:
The Operation Bravo Case appeared on 19.09.2013 as a drop during the operation of the same name. At that time, CS:GO had a comparatively small playerbase, and accordingly few cases were dropped. Nevertheless, they went over the counter for 3 cents. Let’s fast-forward seven years: the crate is only available in the rare pool and supplies are slowly running out. As a result, the price has risen from about 25 euros to 45 euros for a single box in the last year alone.
Cases as a serious investment
Such extreme increases have only been recorded for a few drops so far, but a similar trend is also emerging for other boxes in the rare pool. The community has noticed this by now. So what are the players doing?
In the hope that the new boxes will also take off in a similar way, players are putting massive amounts of money into the currently cheap ones and stashing them on their accounts. As a result, the prices of the cases in the regular pool are also rising in the meantime. For example, the “clutch case”, which is still in the normal pool, is now worth 30 cents each. This means that the CS:GO purchase can refinance itself quite quickly, even for new players.
Of course, these investments are risky. The prices of the boxes only rise in the long term if they are opened more often than they drop. Accordingly, the current increase could also just be a bubble that bursts as soon as all players pour their crates back onto the market.
