How to Get Skins in CS2: A Comprehensive Guide

Beautiful skins in CS2 have become an integral part of the gameplay. It is not uncommon for the prices of popular CS2 items to exceed hundreds of dollars. Fortunately, there are several free ways to get cute skins in CS2.

Players always want to find different, preferably free, ways to get skins, such as this discussion on Reddit.

Our team is ready to tell all the secrets of how to get skins. You have many options: get weekly drops, log in and play on xplay.gg servers and save xcoins, simply buy on the trading platform and participate in esport events and tournaments.

Highlights

• Detailed information about all the ways to get skins in CS2
• Tips for safe transactions

CS2 has recently undergone another update regarding maps again. 

We have many useful articles regarding maps, such as CS2 Best Practice Maps for AIM and Nades. 

Earning Skins in Counter-Strike 2

To get skins in Counter-Strike 2, players have a bunch of ways:

• Opening cases
• In-game trophies 
• Trading with other players
• Buying them on the Steam trading platform
• Buying them on third-party platforms
• Participating in events and receiving gifts
• Getting skins on xplay.gg 

You can wait for the skin you need from the drop or just buy it. In any case, getting CS2 skins is relatively easy. 

Methods to Earn Skins in CS2 

Playing the Game

The CS2 developers incentivize players to rack up matchmaking hours by rewarding them with free skins. This is an excellent option for getting some skins for starters without investing any money.

In-Game Drops

The mechanics of getting skins for experience are simple: for every 5,000 experience points gained in the official modes, you level up your profile. Each time you level up, you get four drop options. After a match, you are offered to choose two of four random prizes, among which weapon skins of varying quality can also fall out. 

Of course, the probability of a particular skin falling out is very low because you can get graffiti, souvenir tokens, and cases in addition to weapon skins. Every two weeks, the list of available rewards in CS2 is updated.

Here, players have shared their best free drops.

Opening Cases

You can get CS2 skins by opening cases. Each weapon case includes a specific set of skins and costs differently. To open it, you will also need to buy the CS2 key. You can go through the whole process inside the game in the "Shop" and "Inventory" tabs.

However, the rarer the skin, the less chance of getting it. Scarce items have a chance of dropping around 1/400.

Also, on Reddit, many players discuss selling cases with a decent profit, which can be used to buy skins.

Completing Missions and Achievements

In June, all game fans were waiting for Valve to add a new Operation. However, nothing happened; they added five new maps and fixed bugs.

The funny thing is that some players need to learn what we're writing about now because it's been so long since the last Operations were released. Operations are additional content that appears in the game for a while. New maps, modes, and skins may appear in the game as part of an operation.

To complete missions, you must purchase a pass - for about $15. 

Recent operations have lasted five months each.

CS: GO had 11 operations during its 11 years of existence: the first (called "Payback") appeared on April 25, 2013, and the last ("Riptide") ended on February 21, 2022. 

Since then, the company has not released any more operations. But if they suddenly appear, know that you can earn skins there.

Trading and Marketplaces

How to Trade Skins

One way to get CS2 skins is to trade with other players. However, be sure to take some precautions to avoid being scammed.

You can sell or buy skins on third-party sites, and you can do it through Steam. There is a difference. When selling skins on Steam, you can only spend the money you receive on the platform and can't withdraw it.

On third-party platforms, there is such an opportunity. This is where trading skins begins. 

We recommend the CS.MONEY site for buying and exchanging skins. In the "Trade" section, you can exchange your skins for the skins you need through the bot, but if your skins are more expensive, the change will be credited to your account. However, you will not be able to withdraw this money.

The "Market" section is where you can buy/sell skins. You can choose any item you want to sell, set a price, and put it up for sale. You can purchase goods by replenishing your wallet on CS.MONEY.

Using the Steam Market

If you have accumulated a certain number of skins using the above methods, you can exchange them for more expensive and attractive ones. To do this, just use the official trading platform Steam Community Market.

Open Steam and go to Community > Market.

Click "Sell Items."

Select the item you want to sell and click Sell.

Enter the price you're willing to accept, check the box indicating that you agree to the Steam Subscriber Agreement, click OK, and then put it up for sale.

Make sure you've entered the correct amount and click OK. Your item is ready for sale but must be confirmed through Steam Guard. Press OK, and then open the Steam Guard app.

In Steam Guard, open "Confirmations", check the box next to your item, and tap "Confirm Selected".

Your item will be listed for sale on the Steam Marketplace. You will receive an email when it is sold, and the money will appear in your Steam Wallet.

If you want to buy a skin in Steam, search for it in the search bar of the Steam Community Market and click on the Buy button.

Using External Platforms

About Xplay.gg Methods

A random drop of free skins in the game is excellent and guaranteed. But what if there is a simpler way? The desire to play on different servers, whose owners appreciate their players and give them a bunch of other bonuses, has everyone. 

If you want to earn free skins in CS2, then xplay.gg is an excellent option. This game server provides a unique opportunity to earn points called xcoins by playing in different game modes and tournaments. 

You can then use your earned points to buy CS2 skins and save money on buying skins on various sites. 

There are other features on the site regarding skins. For example, free access to play with any skin! Read more in the article CS2 Skins Inspect Servers.

You have two options on how you can get skins. 

First: go to the "Store" tab and simply buy a skin for xcoins, we have shown this section in the screenshot below.

The other option is to participate in the auction in the corresponding section (marked in the screenshot). In this case, players place bids, and the winner takes the skin as soon as the timer expires.

Please note that some skins can only be obtained from drops, or only with xplay+ subscription.

There's also a discussion on Reddit about getting skins through xplay.gg.

Risks and Safety Tips

It is essential to be careful when trading/buying skins, as people are only sometimes honest and conscientious. We will leave you with a few rules to follow.

Here are a few safety rules when trading skins in CS2:

• Be extremely careful if you are new to trading.
• Always check the terms and conditions of the exchange carefully.
• A trade must be finalized to take place, so you can always cancel the action if you change your mind.
• If you notice anything suspicious while trading, you can always report it to the tech support of your selling platform.
• Never click on unfamiliar links that are sent to you
• Talk only within the scope of the trade
• Double-check the exchange/buy/sell offer at every stage and ensure that the item remains the same.
• Do not share your SteamGuard code or profile details with anyone
• If you suspect that your API key may have been compromised in any way, delete it in your account settings and create a new trade link. 

Events and Promotions

Special Promotions and Giveaways

Many large trading platforms and services around CS2 regularly organize drawings. Trying to find free skins on social networks and streams, you can see or hear a simple phrase: "give skins for free for something". You must subscribe to the channel, find something to like, or leave a comment to participate.  

In such cases, very expensive guns or knives are raffled off, but there are not many chances to win, due to the large number of participants. However, you can still try, and there is a chance of winning!

More accessible prizes are usually won during the streams of popular esports commentators and analysts. During the broadcast, they hold contests for the simplest actions like liking, subscribing, or retweeting. The lucky ones will get inexpensive but cute weapon skins as a reward.

Participating in CS2 Events

You can participate in Counter-Strike 2 online or LAN tournaments. However, this only sounds easy. You can earn valuable skins or other CS2 items as rewards. 

Remember, to qualify for the tournament, you must have outstanding skills and a high ranking in Counter-Strike 2, as only players with high rankings are eligible to participate. 

Special Edition and Limited Time Skins

There are also souvenir skins in CS2, which differ from regular skins in that they are associated with specific tournament events. These unique skins are received as a gift when players watch live CS2 tournament matches on platforms such as Twitch.

Due to limited availability, souvenir skins are very rare and valuable to the CS2 community.

Everyone knows that skins are also available in the Steam Workshop, they are created by players themselves. One of the participants gave a very interesting statistic about this.

FAQ

How do you get free skins in CS2?

Use xplay.gg to play and earn skins. You can also get skins in the weekly drop and by watching esport events if there is a promotion. 

Can you earn CS2 skins by playing the game?

Yes, on xplay.gg, you can earn xcoins by participating in Challenges and exchanging them for skins.

Is it safe to use third-party websites to earn skins in CS2?

Yes. However, you should pay attention to the transaction details and check the website address. We recommend using CS.MONEY.

How often do you get skin drops in CS2? 

You can only get a maximum of three case drops per week. After that, you have to wait for the week to reset before you can get any more cases.