Guide on How to Get CS2 Keys for Free
Skins, cases, and keys have been around since times immemorial, and today, the game’s rewards system is so expansive that opportunities to expand your in-game inventory are everywhere. In this article, we are going to elaborate on one of these, namely how to get free keys in CS2. The existing methods are less obvious than you might expect, especially if you’re a newcomer, so we will illustrate the things we’re talking about with screenshots. Starting off with Valve’s drops, we will also check other options. Let’s go!
Weekly Drops
Before we dive deeper into the guide, let’s do a brutal opening—CS2 keys for free from Valve = impossible. Technically, there are ways to get both cases and keys for free, but only if you have a CS2 Prime paid subscription, which is a topic for another time. With CS2 Prime, you get a free drop every week once you hit a certain amount of XP points (it takes about 2–3 games in one week to collect enough of those). Thus, each Wednesday, every player with a subscription gets a Weekly Care Package, where they can pick 2 out of 4 random drops like cases, skins, graffiti, detachment packs, and so on.
Can you get free keys in CS:GO like that? Well, no. But you can sell the items you get and buy a key with your Steam balance. Weekly drops are available for immediate sale once you get them.
Third Party Sites
For those who use the next option we are going to discuss, CS:GO free keys are nothing new. Users of third-party websites have been grabbing free drops for more than 10 years now, haven’t you guys? There are thousands of these marketplaces/trading platforms/knowledge bases, etc, all desperate to attract and retain users. So, they regularly “feed” them with freebies, which sometimes include keys.
Also, there are websites that reward referrals and platforms where you can link your Steam account and play CS on their servers to gain currency (which you can later spend at the platform’s store). Just do a bit of research, and you’ll soon see how many ways to get free CS stuff are out there. Beware of scammers, though—there are lots of these, too.
Giveaways
We should not forget that the whole cases&keys thing is already rooted deeply inside the CS community. So, here’s another method of how to earn free keys in CS2 for you. There are thousands of content makers, streamers, popular players, and even whole organizations that do all kinds of giveaways on a daily basis.
We suggest you use HLTV as a starting point to look for giveaways. Visit hltv.org, scroll down to the bottom of the main page, and you’ll find top CS streamers online right now.
Another option is to become a streamer yourself. With good content and a loyal fan base, even if it is small, streamers get much love and support. This includes trade offers with cases and keys from appreciating fans waiting to earn your love and see their present in a live feed.
CS2 Events
During significant CS2 events, typically held either by ESL or PGL, fans from the crowd are given a chance to win drops. Instead of a key, though, they get to open a case without buying it. Technically, fans have to pay just to participate, yet if we remember that the payment is actually for the show, not for the drop, we can all agree that it’s the coolest take on how to get CS2 keys for free.