How to rent skins in CS2: Skin rental, current cases, and more

Valve recently added a way to rent skins in CS2 instead of buying them. You will no longer have to purchase the skins to give them a spin, which is all fine and dandy—but how does it work?

Here’s how you can rent skins in CS2.

Can you rent skins in CS2?

Yes, skin renting in CS2 has become available on May 23 with a major patch. Instead of trying your luck and seeing what you would receive from a case, you can opt to rent all of the case’s skins except knives or gloves for a single week.

Rented skins cannot be traded or sold and will expire once the seven-day period passes. If you’re unsure you would like skins from a particular case, this is a good way to try them out.

How to use skin rental in CS2

To rent out a skin, you will first need to purchase or obtain a case. You are awarded a free case each week for leveling up, but you can also receive cases at random during live play, even in casual modes. When you’ve gotten your hands on a case, you will also need to purchase a key. When you open the case, you will receive a prompt to either try your luck or rent out the case. Select the second option and enjoy your rented skins for a week.

All cases with skin rental in CS2

At the time of writing, only the Kilowatt case—the most recent addition—has rentable skins. Valve is likely using this mechanic to bolster sales of their latest collection, as well as experimenting and seeing how the community reacts. If it proves successful, Valve is likely to add more cases to the rental program, allowing players to try out even the most expensive skins without purchasing them.

Should you rent cases in CS2?

Since rented skins cannot be traded, it depends on what your goals are. If you only want to try out some skins before buying them, it can be a good idea. It’s also quite economical, as you would need at most $2.50 every week, or $10 monthly, to continuously sport rented skins. This means that for the price of a single mid-quality knife per year, you can don some of the best skins in CS2.

Now, if you are in it for the money and the long haul, you should probably stick to regular case opening and trading, as renting basically doesn’t give you any advantage in that regard.