Top 3 Most Expensive Cases in CS2: What Treasures Do These Collections Hold?
As of now, there are over 40 cases in the game (excluding sticker capsules or map and operation collections). Each year, players open more than 400 million cases in hopes of getting the most valuable loot. Currently, each key costs around $2.5, but the case prices vary significantly. This is mainly due to the value of the contents or if the case is no longer in the active drop pool and can only be purchased on the marketplace. In this article, we’ll talk about the top 3 most expensive cases and what you might pull if your luck is maxed out.
CS:GO Weapon Case – $89.74
The very first case in the game, added in the Arms Deal update. Few could have imagined that in-game item prices would reach such heights. If you haven’t logged in for a while but remember having skins in CS:GO, check your inventory. There might be something valuable there. Even if you don’t find anything too valuable, the cheapest weapon from this collection is worth around $30.
AK-47 | Case Hardened
- Factory New – $499
- Minimal Wear – $386
- Well-Worn – $267
- Field-Tested – $381
- Battle-Scarred – $230
This rifle symbolizes the scale of the skin industry in Counter-Strike. The item itself sells for a serious price on the marketplace, but its unique pattern 661, known as “Blue Gem,” has been sold for over $1,000,000. Traders and collectors are eager to get this skin, and it seems prices can inflate endlessly. The distinctive feature of the Blue Gem pattern is its predominant blue color. If you’re lucky enough to get this weapon and see a lot of blue, don’t rush to sell it. While it may not make you a millionaire, you can definitely get a significant premium for a high percentage of blue coverage. This applies to all skins in the “Case Hardened” collection, especially knives.
AWP | Lightning Strike
- Factory New – $768
- Minimal Wear – $876
One of the most beautiful AWP skins with a bright purple color and a realistically drawn lightning bolt. In 2024, this design still looks fresh and relevant, and it doesn’t have a low float quality. Many veterans and professional players have been using this device for years and don’t plan to switch to anything else. The most famous owner of this device is Casper “cadiaN” Møller. This sniper rifle has been in his inventory for over 7 years, and as his primary device, its StatTrack counter shows about 150,000 kills.
eSports 2013 Case – $48.84
This case is as old as the previous one and was released in the same Arms Deal update in 2013. The main feature of this collection was its connection to the esports community. It was the first container in the game, with part of the sales intended to support competitive Counter-Strike and help fund major events. This case is no longer available in the weekly drop from VALVE, having been removed from the active pool. Hence, the high cost of the container, as it doesn’t contain particularly valuable items.
AWP | BOOM
- Factory New – $446
- Minimal Wear – $121
- Well-Worn – $116
The most expensive item from this collection (excluding knives) isn’t very popular but is quite interesting. The design of this skin is inspired by comic books. The rifle’s body is painted bright orange and covered with a dotted pattern. In the background, there are words like BOOM!, BLAM!, POW!, and CRACK!, styled as comic dialogue windows. The texture on the weapon’s body changes depending on the pattern index, and the version where the word CRACK! is prominently displayed on the central part of the rifle is particularly valued.
Operation Bravo Case – $43.62
A case from one of the first operations in the game’s history, experienced by only a small part of the community, also released in 2013, just a month after the Arms Deal update. Operation Bravo gave us the legendary Cache map, but today we’re interested in the items from the eponymous case.
AK-47 | Fire Serpent
- Minimal Wear – $1778
- Well-Worn – $1301
- Field-Tested – $1158
- Battle-Scarred – $738
For a long time, this was the most coveted skin for every player, and owning such a rifle was a privilege few could afford. The rifle’s body is decorated with an image of a green serpent from Mayan mythology. The design is applied to the default AK-47 model, which still attracts users as it has minimal differences from the unpainted variant. Crafting this skin garnered crazy views, and influencers’ reactions were akin to lottery winners. Many media personalities started their careers hunting for this skin, giving popular creators their first audience.
Knives
Seeing a golden icon while opening a case is a rare sight. All these cases offer the same 65 knives with identical color schemes. You can get:
- Bayonet
- M9 Bayonet
- Flip Knife
- Gut Knife
- Karambit
Each knife is available in 13 different color schemes, but the most expensive and valuable ones are:
- Fade
- Crimson Web
- Case Hardened
- Slaughter
- ★ (Vanilla)
Getting such a knife is a great stroke of luck, but if you’re hunting specifically for knives, it’s better to choose cheaper collections where they are also available. The cost of these cases is too high, and the chance of breaking even is extremely low.
As mentioned earlier, the eSports 2013 container has been removed from the active drop pool, and the drop chance for the Operation Bravo Case and CS:GO Weapon Case is estimated to be between 0.02% and 0.05%. If you’re lucky enough to get one of these cases in your weekly drop, the more rational decision would be to sell it or keep it as an investment. It’s possible that over time VALVE will remove these cases, allowing you to profit nicely. On the other hand, since you got it for free, your only cost to open it would be $2.5. Given the minimum value of items from these cases, you will likely recoup your investment and come out ahead.