CS2 Keys

Every weapon case in CS2 opens with its own named key bought in-game for $2.49 (regional Steam pricing varies). The key usually costs more than the case it opens, so the real cost of an opening is always case plus key.

The cheapest is Operation Hydra Case Key at $2.11; the dearest, Operation Breakout Case Key at $24.57.

What a case key costs

Valve sells case keys in-game at a fixed $2.49 in USD regions; other currencies follow regional Steam pricing, which is why players in different regions see different numbers. There are no discounts, no bulk pricing and no way to earn keys by playing. For any worth-it math the key is the constant: a case is worth opening only if its expected value clears the case price plus the key.

Why modern keys cannot be traded or sold

In October 2019 Valve made all newly purchased keys untradeable and unmarketable after concluding that nearly all resold keys were fraud-sourced. A key bought today exists only in your own inventory and can only open cases. Marketplace key prices therefore refer exclusively to old stock bought before the cutoff.

Legacy keys as collectibles and currency

Keys bought before October 2019 remain tradable and marketable, and for years they were the de facto currency of the trading scene. Supply only shrinks as old keys get consumed on cases, so surviving legacy keys such as the CS:GO Case Key, eSports Key and operation keys trade above the store price and slowly appreciate.

One key opens one case

Every case has its own named key: a Fever Case Key opens only the Fever Case, a Kilowatt Case Key only the Kilowatt Case. All of them cost the same $2.49 in the store, and the in-game store is the only source of keys for opening modern cases.