If you’re pulling up to the CSGO station to get on the hype train for Counter-Strike Source 2, you’ll be wanting to bring over as many crate and skin drops as possible to try out if you get that elusive beta invitation. However, in CSGO, drops are only enabled for players who have Prime Status, which also places you in a play pool of Prime Status-only players. Considering these benefits, you might be wondering how to get Prime Status in CSGO.
How Do You Upgrade To Prime Status in CSGO?
The first thing to do is check if you already have Prime Status. If you’ve owned CSGO for a long time, chances are that it’s already applied by default, meaning you’re good to go. To check, simply open the ‘Play CSGO’ menu from the main menu. If it is active, you’ll see a ‘Prime enabled’ badge on the far right hand side of the screen.
With it active, you’ll be able to get drops and level up while playing. You’ll also have a small chance at getting rare drops of crates and weapon skins, and some of those can sell for upwards of $100 on the Steam marketplace!
If you’re a new player, however, things aren’t so simple. There used to be a way to get Prime Status for free by leveling up to rank 21. Unfortunately, this feature was removed in 2021. Prime Status is used as a cheater deterrent, but a rank 21 limit didn’t slow cheaters down enough. That means there’s now only one option to get Prime Status as a new player: buy it directly through Steam on the CSGO store page for $14.99.
It’s a one-off purchase, and I’d say it’s worth it for the improved matchmaking (fewer cheaters) and ability to earn drops. It will also carry over to Counter-Strike Source 2 when that releases, so you won’t have to buy it again. Plus, CSGO cases are skyrocketing in anticipation of the upcoming release, so you can actually earn back the cost of the Prime Status purchase with just a few Revolution or Dreams & Nightmares case drops!
That’s all there is to know about Prime Status in CSGO. If you had a copy of CSGO before it went free to play, you shouldn’t have to do anything extra to get playing with the best matchmaking and regular loot drops. If you’re a newer player, you’ll probably need to buy it, but hey, you might get lucky and earn more from the crate drops while they’re high in value!
