By Sagar V. Mankar 
Counter-Strike developer Valve raked in nearly $1 billion last year from loot boxes which is much bigger than the many Hollywood releases that year.
Hollywood’s biggest release in 2023 was Barbie which earned $1.5 billion gross and Oppenheimer earned nearly $1 billion.
For new, Loot boxes are cases that players can purchase containing random cosmetic items/skins of varying rarity and value.
This controversial monetization method has led many to question whether loot boxes promote underage gambling.
According to data tracked by 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.
The most popular case ever is Dreams & Nightmare which was released 2 years ago, opened over 50 million times as of now.
At $2.50 a pop, this single case earned Valve $120+ million from keys alone.
Why Are CS: GO Skins So Valuable?
Loot boxes are random rewards purchased with real money or in-game currency.
Players don’t know the item they’ll receive until after purchase.
Unlike trading card packs, items have varying rarity and value.
This has led to comparisons with slot machines or roulette.
While cosmetics don’t affect gameplay, rare coveted skins like knives can sell for upwards of $400,000.
There is a whole market around buying/selling skins for real money.
This has led to illegal gambling sites letting players gamble skins like casino chips.
In 2020, a UK Parliament report recommended classifying loot boxes as gambling.
55,000 underage kids aged 11-15 already have a gambling problem there.
71% of Steam’s top games from 2010-2019 contained loot boxes according to one study.
The UK Gambling Commission said current laws prevent them from regulating loot boxes.
However, the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport proposed 10 rules in July 2023 to enhance player protection around loot boxes.
These include:
- Restricting under 18s from purchasing loot boxes
- Disclosing the presence of loot boxes before purchase/download
So far, no laws specifically target loot boxes.