There are a lot of Counter-Strike 2 cases you can open, but some are better than others, and the best cases to open in CS2 contain some of the most fashionable skins in the game.
This year also saw the addition of several new and exciting cases, especially via the Armory Update, so here are our current picks.
The best CS2 cases to open in 2024
1) Dreams & Nightmares Case
The Dreams & Nightmares Case in CS2 contains 17 community designs as skins and was released on Jan. 20, 2022. It features many colorful and exciting skins, with even its lower rarity ones carrying striking looks, such as the MAC-10 Ensnared. The crown jewel of the case is certainly the AK-47 Nightwish (well, apart from all the knives you can get), and the skin carries its own legendary tale as it was unboxed live during a CS:GO major in the summer of 2022 with the crowd going understandably wild.
2) Recoil Case
The Recoil Case was released on July 1, 2022. This loot box contains 17 community-designed weapon finishes, and is currently one of the most popular cases in all of Counter-Strike. It’s cheap and has fantastic skins, most notably the USP-S Prinstream, which even in the Minimal Wear form can net you a few dozen dollars at the least, while its higher rarities and iterations can go into the hundreds.
Many players love buying the Recoil Case in bulk as it is very competitively priced compared to other cases on this list and otherwise. The release of CS2 didn’t help either as more and more cases keep rising in prices, with some eclipsing the price of keys altogether.
3) Operation Riptide Case
Back when Valve was still doing Operations they dropped one of the most exciting events in CS:GO in 2021, Operation Riptide, which, following the tradition of other events, had its own case to boot. It contains over a dozen skins all featuring wild and colorful designs, though they’re all quite rare and you won’t see many players sporting them in matches, which might be a draw for collectors. Having been released as part of an Operation event years ago, the case has slowly risen in price since, and fetches up to seven bucks on a good day, with the potential to keep growing.
That being said, the rarer skins contained within are also quite pricey and rare, making this case quite lucrative and attractive.
4) Chroma 3 Case
The Chroma 3 Case in CS2 was added to the franchise in April 2016. All of the skins are bright and colorful, with Chantico’s Fire certainly standing out as one of the best M4A1-S skins in the entire game.
While the Legend of Anubis skin is for an incredibly underused gun, the skin had some legs on the market. As far as red skins go, the price pales in comparison to AK or AWP cosmetics, but it’s still relatively expensive.
5) Operation Broken Fang Case
Each operation introduces unique skins that rival the previous releases. Operation Broken Fang was no different, and its case added a bunch of colorful skins to CS2. In addition to multiple valuable drops with excellent looks, it’s the Glove drop that separates this case from the rest.
As one of the best CS2 cases, it features both a high-level USP-S and Glock-18 skin, which are rare finds to begin with. The Broken Fang case also hosts an incredibly clean M4A1-S skin. I personally can’t go past a Printstream skin, and if you’re a fan of the USP-S Printstream, you’ll be able to add this to your collection if you seek out the Broken Fang case.
6) Revolution Case
The Revolution Case is a 2023 addition to CS2‘s skin library. It’s one of the best CS2 cases to open since it’s one of the rare ones that feature skins for all the most popular weapons in the game: The AK-47, M4A4, M4A1-S, and AWP.
While almost all cases in CS2 feature at least one skin for the big four, it’s a unique occurrence to have a case that has a skin for all four. The Revolution Case also tops it off with a high return on investment rate since most of the skins inside it will be worth more than its unlocking costs, making it a solid choice for players who’d like to get their money’s worth from a case.
7) Gamma Case
The Gamma Case features detailed skins that laid the foundation of some of the most incredible skins to hit the Steam market. Some of the textures included in the case resemble professional street art and give you a gangsta look in the game.
The Mecha Industries sits alongside the Printstream as the cleanest skins in CS2. You’ll be able to add the Wasteland Rebel skin to match your AK-47 Wasteland Rebel, making your T kit the sharpest on the server.
8) Prisma Case
Having launched in 2019 one would expect the skins in this to be a bit more grittier, but that couldn’t be farther from the truth. The Prisma Case contains some of the most well-designed skins in the game, and no matter what you get, you’ll be content with its looks (if you can get over the monetary losses, that is). With such good designs it’s no wonder the Prisma Case has one of the most popular skins in the game, the M4A4 Emperor. Even on the lower end there are a few highly popular Prisma skins, including the Uncharted AK-47 and AWP Atheris.
9) Clutch Case
The Clutch Case includes some of the best skins with a darker color range. The pink USP-S skin is the only exception to its theme. It’s also one of the few cases that offer a pair of gloves instead of a knife skin.
The Neo-Noir sits atop the skins in the Clutch Case for good reason It’s an incredibly well-designed skin, providing several different patterns without being overwhelming on the eyes. I also tried to get the worst possible R8 Revolver Grip in CS2. I would advise against this, as you’ll never use the R8—unless you’re trolling.
10) Gallery Case
The Gallery Case was added to Counter-Strike 2 with the massive (and controversial) Armory Update which sought to expand the cosmetic side of the game, which Valve seems to care the most about. It contains 17 community-made skins, all of which are bright, visually appealing, highly stylized, and overall just well made.
For those seeking high-quality skins for their main weapons, those being the two M4s and the AK, the Gallery Case has them all, especially in the M4A1-S and AK-47 departments with the downright amazing Vaporwave and The Outsiders respective skins. The Glock also stands out here with the Gold Toof, which is probably the best skin for it available at the moment.
11) CS20 Case
As the twentieth birthday of the immensely influential and popular Counter-Strike franchise grew nearer, so did the players grow more excited with many holding their breaths for whatever Valve was planning to do. And then the developers just dropped a case and called it a day, which didn’t sit well with most players. However, even with its controversial nature, this 2019 case still contains some of the best skins in the game, particularly the AWP Wildfire which stands the test of time as one of the most unique and best-looking skins in Counter-Strike. Even a case is leagues above the single tweet we got for the 25th anniversary.
12) Danger Zone Case
Danger Zone was one of the most impactful patches in CS:GO history. Alongside introducing a unique Battle Royale mode, it also came with awesome skins. The AK-47 joined the Asiimov family while the AWP got another futuristic skin. And, though the Danger Zone game mode was removed from CS2 and is likely ever coming back, we still have these amazing skins to keep us content at least to some degree.
The Asiimov might be one of the best AK skins alongside the Vulcan. You’ll be able to add the Asiimov to your collection for a lovely pairing with the AWP Asiimov. The Deagle in the Danger Zone case is one of my favorite pistol skins, and if I could have all of them, I would.
13) The Winter Offensive Weapon Case
The Winter Offensive Weapon Case is an older one and more expensive due to its rarity. If you’re looking to unbox some of the most fantastic skins in the game, such as the M4A4 Asiimov, then this is the case for you.
This case also contains another popular skin, the AWP Redline, as well as a very good Sawed-Off skin. Like most cases of the era, this one has the potential to drop a knife. You may also want to consider reselling the case if you were to receive it in the weekly drop, since it’s worth two full keys and then some.
14) Huntsman Weapon Case
The Huntsman Case contains some of the most beautiful community-made skins in all of Counter-Strike. Its high price is justified by the quality and rarity of the skins. For example, you can unlock the fantastic AK-47 Vulcan or the M4A4 Desert Strike, both of which are very valuable, but also the M4A1-S Atomic Alloy or the UPS-S Caiman.
This case is also exceptional with its, well, exceptionally rare items—Huntsman knives—which are both valuable and good-looking. Though its roster of skins is not too big compared to other cases, the Huntsman is a good choice. Its high value may also eventually warrant a resell if you grab it for free at the end of the week.
With these cases, you will have the opportunity to expand your CS2 inventory or even make a quick buck or two. If Valve ever decides to expand its skin renting functionality beyond the Kilowatt case, which is currently the only one with the feature, players may even get the chance to experience some of the best and rarest skins in the game for a very low price. Until then, we’ll have to open them and hope for the best.
15) Kilowatt Case
The Kilowatt case, apart from containing incredible and unique skins (especially for the AWP), stands apart as the case whose skins can be rented for a limited time and used as if you owned them. For the low low price of two and a half bucks you can open the case and rent out any skin you like for the duration, which, given how expensive some of these skins are, might be the more economic way to go, with the primary trade-off being, well, the lack of trading capabilities.
The AWP Chrome Canon contained within is also unique in the sense that it changes color based on the lighting of the location you’re in. It also has the first and currently only skin for the God damned Zeus of all things, making this case full of uniqueness and special skins worth opening.
How to get cases in CS2
If you’re looking to go on a case-opening rampage in CS2, you should have everything ready in your inventory to avoid any downtime. There are two ways to get cases in CS2, and I recommend combining the two in the long run to reduce costs.
1) Play CS2 to get free case drops
Case drops reward CS2 players for their efforts in the game. Whenever you rank up for the first time in a week, you’ll get a free case drop in CS2. In addition to this guaranteed chest, CS2 players will also have a chance to get a case drop after each match played.
The case drops in CS2 are random, and the cases you’ll get from these drops will be on a rotation that changes when Valve adds a new chest to the game.
Buying CS2 cases is the fastest way to get them. The cases have ranging prices that depend on their contents, and you’ll also need to purchase their respective keys to open them inside the game.
Before buying a ton of CS2 cases, I recommend checking their contents to ensure that you want at least a few skins inside them.
Deciding on which cases to open may be a struggle because Valve has been creating CS2 skins and cases since CS:GO. To save you time, we came up with a list of the best CS2 cases to open both in terms of value and popularity in 2024.
Which CS2 case should you open based on odds?
Every time I purchase a CS2 case, I cross my fingers and hope to get a valuable skin to make a profit. The odds of this happening won’t be the same for all cases. If you’re looking to increase your profits from your case-opening adventures, you should prioritize opening the best CS2 cases with the highest return on investment rates.
The following calculations were made by Daniel Morris of esports.net.
| Case name | Case cost | Key cost | Average monetary return of one case | Return on investment (ROI) |
| Gallery Case | $1.07 | $2.49 | $4.02 | 112.8 percent |
| CS:GO Weapon Case Two | $11.50 | $2.49 | $11.20 | 80.06 percent |
| CS:GO Weapon Case Three | $6.55 | $2.49 | $7 | 77.43 percent |
| Kilowatt Case | $0.93 | $2.49 | $2.47 | 72.43 percent |
| Huntsman Weapon Case | $8.10 | $2.49 | $7.40 | 69.88 percent |
How much money does Valve make from CS2 cases?
Valve reportedly raked in nearly a billion dollars from CS2 cases in 2023. Though Valve never shares its official figures, cases easily make CS2 one of the most lucrative online games and it’s unlikely to be dethroned anytime soon.
What are the chances of getting a knife in CS2?
Based on case odds from Valve in 2017, players have a 0.26 percent chance of getting a knife from CS2 cases. If you open 400 CS2 cases, you should at least get one knife or one glove.
Collecting as many AK skins as possible is an excellent way to bolster the value of your inventory. I typically aim for cases featuring skins on AKs, AWPs, and either M4. This makes the Dreams & Nightmares Case one of my favorites.
