Is CS2 removing cases? | Rumors explained

Valve is in a tricky spot with Counter-Strike 2 cases. Tightening lootbox laws in some regions puts the developer in an awkward position, given how CS2 cases quite clearly fall into that category. But recent developments have left players answering a bigger question: Is CS2 removing cases? It’s time to take a look at whether Counter-Strike cases are here to stay, or whether Valve could take the drastic step of removing them from the game.

Sealed Terminals may prove to be the future

Earlier this year, Valve signalled a change in the times by releasing a new container type: the Sealed Genesis Terminal. This Sealed Terminal didn’t require a key to open, gave players multiple chances to get a good item, and would only cost anything if players chose to buy the item at the end of it. The price of these items seemed to vary, depending on the popularity of each skin. In this scenario, players would end up paying much more for a rare CS2 skin, and the proceeds would go directly to Valve.

It was a controversial update, to say the least. But the timing of this change is no coincidence, and Valve has not released a new CS2 case since. Many think that new Sealed Terminals will be the permanent way forward for CS2, for better or for worse.

Valve removes rare cases from the CS2 drop pool

The big change that has made gamers ask, “Is CS2 removing cases?” was a recent update in which Valve silently removed rare cases from the drop pool. This meant that zero new rare cases have entered the game via CS2 weekly drops since this update, all without Valve saying a word.

☠️ CS2 farms dead again?

According to stats from farming tools, Valve quietly disabled rare case drops this Wednesday and they haven’t dropped at all this week.

There’s a chance it’s a temporary change, similar to the 40% Terminal drop chance (or just classic clumsiness from a… pic.twitter.com/08bAyS2dIm

— Steam Inventory Helper (@SteamInvHelper) December 18, 2025

So many players are worried that all this at once is a sign Valve is moving towards a Terminal-based system in the future, which could help the developer comply with gambling laws worldwide. But with so many cases in inventories and this system so core to the game’s economy, this is a situation where you can’t really put the toothpaste back in the tube.

Existing cases will not be removed from CS2. Of that, I am pretty certain. If they were straight-up removed, there would be riots outside the Valve offices. But will CS2 go Terminal-only? Personally, I don’t think so. This is due to how I view the recent changes from Valve.

I don’t think Valve are prepping to remove CS2 cases from the drop pool permanently. I still think the developer will release more new cases in the future. But equally, there will also be more Sealed Terminals, as well as more Armory collections full of skins. This allows Valve to diversify the way skins are added into the game, rather than it all coming down to cases.

So, why would Valve do this? It’s to kill bot farms, of course. By diversifying how skins enter CS2, it devalues the weekly case drops farmed by bots. This would explain the removal of rare cases from the active pool, too. It’s a very direct cause of action to challenge the problem, and may not be permanent.

For now, it remains a case of “wait and see.” The last new CS2 case was the Fever Case, added back in March 2025. If we’re in mid-2026 and Valve hasn’t added a new case to the game, then it might be time to actually start panicking.