Valve has shipped out a new update to Counter-Strike 2 on December 18th, and while the patch notes don’t reveal any major changes on the surface, an unlisted change has completely caught the community off-guard, triggering chaos across the Steam Market.
Taking a glance at the official patch notes of the latest CS2 update reveals the following:
- Champions Autographs Capsule is now available for purchase. Congratulations to Team Vitality!
- Highlight Souvenir Packages can now be acquired for the Playoff matches.
While this is nothing out of the ordinary for a post-Major update, the devs have also shipped a hidden change to CS2 that is expected to have a noticeable impact on the game’s skin economy in the coming days.
CS2 Update Removes Rare Cases From Drop Pool
As per recent reports from various sources, Valve has completely removed rare cases from the CS2 drop pool.
Previously, players had a small chance to receive a case from the Rare Drop Pool as part of their Care Package. This pool consisted of cases that were no longer part of the Active Drop Pool, making them significantly more valuable. Typically, only the latest five cases remain in the Active Drop Pool, with older cases being moved to the Rare Drop Pool once they rotate out.
Moving forward, it seems that Valve is completely changing this formula, with reports suggesting the Rare Drop Pool has been removed from the game entirely.
Debates have already started sparking within the community regarding this change and whether it means older CS2 cases can no longer be obtained at all, or if Valve plans to introduce an alternative method for acquiring them in the future.
How this shift affects the broader CS2 skin economy remains to be seen.