There are four legal ways to get skins in CS2: the Steam Community Market, the in-game store, the Weekly Care Package and trading with other players. This guide explains how cases and keys work, why an item stays under Trade Protection for seven days after a trade, which requirements and holds Steam applies to trading and the Market, and how players in Germany and the Netherlands open cases. It is based on Valve’s announcements and Steam Support, as of 19 October 2026.
Where CS2 skins come from
If you played CS:GO, your inventory is safe. Every item from CS:GO moved over to CS2, so your skins, knives and stickers are still there. New items come through these legal routes:
- Steam Community Market – Steam’s marketplace, where you buy items from other players and sell to them.
- In-game store – the Store and the Armory right in the CS2 menu.
- Weekly Care Package – you pick a reward for your first level-up of the week.
- Trading – swapping items with another player through Steam.
The Armory rotates. On 8 July 2026, for example, the Spy Tech and Arabesque collections arrived while Train 2025 and Sport & Field left, which is why we do not list what is in the Armory right now. Community artists get into collections through the Steam Workshop. And a small one for collectors: since 22 September 2026 you can put stickers on the C4 as well.
Item and case drops go to players with Prime Status. What else Prime unlocks and what it costs is covered in our guide to Prime and VAC. The game itself is free on Steam.
Cases and keys
A case opens with the key made for that specific case. You buy keys in game, and you cannot refund them or sell them on the Market. A key costs $2.49, or the equivalent amount in your local currency.
We do not list case prices, drop odds or “best case” rankings here. We also do not recommend or link to third-party sites that sell skins for real money or run skin gambling.
Trade Protection: seven days of cover after a trade
Since 16 July 2025, CS2 items have Trade Protection. Steam introduced it because of stolen accounts and scams: if you lose control of your account and someone trades your items away, you have seven days to reverse the trade.
You receive a traded item straight away and can play with it immediately. For seven days, though, it is “Trade Protected” and some things are off limits:
| During the 7 days of Trade Protection | Allowed? |
|---|---|
| Equip the skin and play with it | yes |
| Consume or modify the item | no |
| Pass it on in another trade | no |
| Move it into a Storage Unit | no |
Reversing trades comes at a price. Whoever reverses gets a 30-day ban from trading and the Market; the trade partner does not. Only trades marked Trade Protected can be reversed, and all such trades from the past seven days are reversed together, not just one you pick. The details are in Steam’s help page on Trade Protection.
Thanks to Trade Protection, CS2 items are not subject to trade holds or escrow and move between accounts instantly. There is one catch: you cannot mix CS2 items in a single trade with items from games that do not have this protection.
Requirements and holds for trading and the Market
Steam only lets accounts that meet its security requirements trade or use the Market. On top of that, items bought in game or on the Market cannot be traded or sold until the date shown on the item in your inventory.
| Situation | What applies |
|---|---|
| Steam Guard | must have been active for at least 15 days |
| Steam purchase | to use the Market you need a successful purchase older than 7 days (and not older than a year) |
| Login from a new device | 7 days without trading or the Market, unless you have had the Mobile Authenticator for 7+ days |
| Password reset | 5 days without trading or the Market (30 days after 2+ months of inactivity) |
| Removing the Mobile Authenticator | 15 days without trading or the Market |
In general, without a Steam Guard Mobile Authenticator that has been active for at least seven days, Steam holds outgoing items for up to 15 days. With the authenticator, those holds disappear. Traded CS2 items skip this thanks to Trade Protection, but the authenticator is still worth having because it also spares you the seven-day restriction after logging in from a new device. Full details are on the Steam help pages Trading and Market Restrictions and Trade and Market Holds.
A ban ends your trading
A VAC ban, a cooldown or an Overwatch ban in CS2 cuts you off from the in-game store, from trading CS2 items and from drops. If you want to keep using your inventory, stay away from cheats. How VAC works and why the ban is permanent is explained in our article on VAC bans.
X-Ray Scanner in Germany and the Netherlands
Since 16 March 2026, players in Germany and the Netherlands have an X-Ray Scanner tab in their inventory. They can only open cases through it, and they see what is inside first. These rules apply:
- A scanned case disappears from your inventory and cannot be sold or traded.
- You can only scan another case after you buy and claim the revealed item.
- Keyless containers such as Souvenir Packages open normally without the scanner.
More on the scanner is in Steam’s help page on the X-Ray Scanner. What else CS2 changed compared to CS:GO is summed up in what is CS2.
Stuck on a trade or not sure why Steam is holding an item? Join our Discord at https://discord.com/invite/feTRJNn9wE and ask. You will find us on the GamersTogether Discord.
FAQ
Yes. Every item from CS:GO moved over to CS2, so your inventory is still available.
A key costs $2.49, or the equivalent in your local currency. You buy it in game, and it cannot be refunded or sold on the Market.
CS2 items are Trade Protected for 7 days after a trade. You can play with them, but you cannot consume, modify or transfer them, not even into a Storage Unit.
Yes, within 7 days, as long as it is marked Trade Protected. All such trades from the past 7 days are reversed together, and you get a 30-day ban from trading and the Market.
An inventory tab for players in Germany and the Netherlands. You scan a case and see its contents, but the scanned case disappears and you can only scan another one after buying the revealed item.
Information verified on 19 October 2026. More guides to the game are in the CS2 guides section.