The newest Counter-Strike: Global Offensive update has ended the sale and trade of new container keys on the Steam Community Market. In the CS:GO team’s blog post, they explain that this update has been made in an effort to combat fraudulent trading and selling practices on the Steam Marketplace. Valve states that “worldwide fraud networks” have been using CS:GO keys to liquidate their gains.
Valve’s blog post states that most key trades and purchases in the past have been between legitimate users. They explain that “worldwide fraud networks” have been using CS:GO case keys as a way to liquidate their gains, and at this point in time, nearly all key sales and trades on the Steam Market are fraudulent. They cite this as their reason for ending the trade and sale of new keys on the Steam Community Market.
Counter-Strike case keys can still be purchased in-game, and existing keys can still be sold and traded on the Steam Community Market. CS:GO players who wish to continue buying case keys in-game will not be affected by this update. New keys will not be able to be sold or traded on the Market as this update takes effect. The CS:GO team acknowledges that this change will affect some legitimate users, but that “combating fraud is something we continue to prioritize across Steam and our products.” Many CS:GO players have mentioned the impact this will have on traders, as they often use Counter-Strike case keys as a means of currency. CS:GO item traders were also affected by a previous update that required a seven-day cooldown between item trades.
In addition to the container key update, Valve fixed a client UI issue that would occasionally display a CS:GO Weapon Case as “genuine quality.” A few more changes were made to Danger Zone, CS:GO’s battle royale game mode. The update removes an exploit that would allow players to avoid taking damage on Danger Zone if they had an invalid player name. The final update comes to the Danger Zone drones, as they can no longer pick up cargo if they have started self-destructing.
All of these changes take effect with the newest Counter-Strike game update.