Recently, numerous videos have been released exposing what some allege to be Valves involvement in “case casinos”. Furthermore, this has purportedly led to a significant increase in underage gambling, which some are saying has reached epidemic levels.
As a result, Valve has opted to remain silent about these allegations and attempted to wilfully ignore the ramifications caused by their cases because… I guess Gabe wanted another Yacht.
32 Million Cases
In the last month, Valve has made an astonishing $100 million from Counter-Strike cases, with over 32 million cases being opened. If you don’t know how Counter-Strike cases work, let me explain. I’ve opened my fair share.
Every purchase that is opened in-game goes through the Steam Marketplace, from which Valve takes a 15% cut of everything sold, from cases to skins. Then, when you buy the case you want, you have to pay an additional $2.49 or £1.99 for the key to open it. Then what comes is a slot machine-like cinematic that always seems to show you missing out on the key items from the case, and you get whatever is left. Obviously, with a percent chance that you’ll get something you really want.
With 32 million cases opened, the keys alone account for approximately $82 million or £64,000,000. This figure doesn’t even include the cost of the cases themselves, which can range from $0.20 to $100 depending on the case’s rarity and supply.
CS:GO Case Tracker
The 32 million figure was tracked through CS:GO Case Tracker and determines the number of cases opened through the amount of new skins added to the market over the past month. This does mean that the number may be significantly higher, as this doesn’t track skins added to private inventories.
Or to cut a long story a bit short, it’s no wonder Gabe likes yachts, and any wonder he can afford more than one.
