CS:GO update puts an end to selling and trading of new keys

Aditya Singh Rawat
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CS:GO update puts an end to selling and trading of new keys

Cover Image Courtesy: Carousell | Thumbnail Image Courtesy: Steam Community Market

CS:GO released an update yesterday which might be a massive gamechanger in terms of how trades and deals are made in Counter-Strike or on Steam in-between users. The update has put an end to the trading and selling of keys between users and on the Steam Community Market. The official blog states that,

“CS:GO container keys purchased in-game can no longer leave the purchasing account. That is, they cannot be sold on the Steam Community Market or traded.”


This new restriction will not be levied on pre-existing CS:GO container keys, those keys can still be sold on the Steam Market or traded with other users.


The reason behind this sudden restriction is to hamper worldwide fraud agencies from liquidating their gains by using CS:GO keys. The update goes on to state that,

“At this point, nearly all key purchases that end up being traded or sold on the marketplace are believed to be fraud-sourced. As a result, we have decided that newly purchased keys will not be tradeable or marketable.”


In the past, most of these key trades occurred between legitimate users but with corruption creeping in CS:GO had to take a step in order to curb this evil before it spread out of control.


They ensure that CS:GO users who are purchasing these keys to open containers can continue to operate normally, nothing changes for them. The key will still show up in the user’s inventory, they will just not be able to sell or trade it.

The official blog concluded with the following statement,

“Unfortunately this change will impact some legitimate users, but combating fraud is something we continue to prioritize across Steam and our products.”


Other changes include,

  • Fixed a client UI issue sometimes displaying CS:GO Weapon Case as a genuine quality.

  • Fixed an exploit where players could avoid Danger Zone damage if they had an invalid player name.

  • Once a drone starts self-destructing it can no longer grab cargo.


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Aditya is the in-house CS:GO writer at AFK Gaming. While his understanding of the esports space is not restricted by geographical borders, his current focus lies in the Asian region. Understands and follows almost all major esport titles.