You won’t believe it if I tell you that the CS: GO developer raked over a billion dollars by just letting players have to key to open cases.
But it is true!
According to the 2023 Year in Review by CS: GO Case Tracker, Counter-Strike developer Valve generated nearly $1 billion last year from loot boxes alone.
Comparing it with Hollywood’s biggest releases, it was quite close to “Barbie,” which grossed over $1.5 billion, and “Oppenheimer,” which earned nearly a billion dollars at the same time.
For new, Loot boxes are cases that players can purchase containing random cosmetic items/skins of any level or price.
This controversial monetization method has led many to question whether loot boxes promote underage gambling.
According to CSGO Case Tracker, over 400 million CS: GO cases were opened in 2023 alone.
With keys costing $2.50 each, this translates to $980 million in revenue from keys purchased just to unlock loot boxes.
And that’s not even including direct cosmetic purchases or collection packs sold through Steam!
In March 2023 alone, CS: GO players bought a record 39.5 million cases, spending over $100 million that month (Highest in any Month).
While not every case requires a key to open, when a new “free” case drops, it still causes a spike in players buying keys to try their luck.
For example, 6.6 million Anubis cases were opened freely on April 25th, 2023 when it was released.
However, it still isn’t close to the most popular case ever, Dreams & Nightmare, which was released two years ago. Having been opened more than 50 million times to date, and at $2.50 each, this single case has generated over $120 million for Valve from key sales alone.
How CS Loot Box Model Works?
Loot boxes are random rewards bought with real money or in-game currency, and players are unaware of the item they will receive until after the purchase.
Unlike trading card packs, these items vary in rarity and value, drawing comparisons to slot machines or roulette.
While some cosmetic items do not impact gameplay, rare skins, such as knives, and guns, can fetch over $400,000 through outside game sales.
There is a huge online trading market exists outside the game for the buying and selling of these skins for real money, leading to the emergence of illegal gambling sites where skins are wagered like casino chips.
In 2020, members of the UK Parliament attempted to impose restrictions on loot boxes by classifying it as gambling, highlighting that 55,000 minors between the ages of 11-15 were experiencing gambling problems.
These loot box models also inspired many game developers as a new source of money. A study found that 71% of Steam’s top games from 2010-2019 included loot boxes.
The UK Gambling Commission has admitted that current laws restrict their ability to regulate these loot boxes and need to be changed.
Nonetheless, in July 2023, the UK’s Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport proposed 10 measures to bolster player safeguards regarding loot boxes, such as barring those under 18 from purchasing them and mandating disclosure of loot boxes before purchase or download.
To date, no specific legislation targets loot boxes.
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