The Operation Hydra Case is a CS2 container released on May 23, 2017, alongside the Operation Hydra event, and originally available only to holders of the operation's paid pass: each earned star awarded either a case or a weapon skin, and the pass could yield up to nine of these cases in total. Inside are 17 weapon skins across four rarity tiers, plus a separate rare pool of 24 gloves across all six models — the exact same lineup as the Glove Case, which launched half a year earlier. The case itself costs around $27.33 on the market right now, and a fresh key costs $2.49 in the US Steam region, so each attempt runs about $29.82. Prices inside swing just as wildly as in other glove cases: from a couple of dollars for common skins like Tec-9 | Cut Out to Sport Gloves | Hedge Maze in Factory New, which costs almost $28,840. Below we break down what's actually inside, the odds at each rarity, and whether opening this case makes sense if you're counting the dollars.
What's Inside the Operation Hydra Case
Two Covert-rarity skins — Five-SeveN | Hyper Beast and AWP | Oni Taiji — run roughly $244 to $595 depending on wear. Three tiers down, in Classified, sit Dual Berettas | Cobra Strike, Galil AR | Sugar Rush, and M4A4 | Hellfire: prices here run roughly $42 to $345, with Hellfire carrying the widest spread between wears. All 17 weapon skins in the Operation Hydra Case also exist in StatTrak versions, which usually cost more than the regular ones, whereas StatTrak doesn't exist for gloves at all.
The remaining twelve skins make up the bulk of the case. Five Restricted finishes — AK-47 | Orbit Mk01, P2000 | Woodsman, P250 | Red Rock, P90 | Death Grip, and SSG 08 | Death's Head — run roughly $13 to $95. Seven Mil-Spec finishes — USP-S | Blueprint, FAMAS | Macabre, M4A1-S | Briefing, MAC-10 | Aloha, MAG-7 | Hard Water, Tec-9 | Cut Out, and UMP-45 | Metal Flowers — trade for a few dollars at almost any wear. The two bottom rarities that hold these twelve skins account for a combined 95.9% of all openings.
The Rare Drop: the Same Glove Lineup as the Glove Case
Unlike the Glove Case, which was the first CS2 case to introduce gloves, the Operation Hydra Case doesn't add any new finishes — its rare pool is literally identical: the same 24 finishes split evenly across all six models — Bloodhound, Driver, Hand Wraps, Moto, Specialist, and Sport — four each. That's simply how it worked out: several CS2 cases share the exact same rare glove pool and differ only in their weapon-skin lineup. The price range here is just as wide: from Driver Gloves | Convoy at around $60 for Battle-Scarred to Sport Gloves | Hedge Maze, which in Factory New costs almost $28,840. None of the 24 gloves has a StatTrak version; that mechanic doesn't exist for gloves at all.
Odds by Rarity
Standard CS2 weapon cases, the Operation Hydra Case included, typically use the following disclosed Valve odds:
Mil-Spec Grade — 79.92%.
Restricted — 15.98%.
Classified — 3.2%.
Covert — 0.64%.
The rare special item, meaning gloves — 0.26%. Different trackers round this slightly differently, but for the Operation Hydra Case that's roughly 1 in 385 case openings, and the odds of pulling one specific finish out of the 24, assuming equal odds for each, come out to about 1 in 9,230 openings.
What It Costs to Open the Operation Hydra Case
The case itself currently costs around $27.33 on the market. Unlike the Glove Case, which any player could earn through the regular weekly drop pool, the Operation Hydra Case was originally handed out only to holders of the operation's paid pass, mixed in with skins as a reward for progress stars. After the operation ended on November 13, 2017, the case moved into the broader rare drop pool, but its exact status today is disputed among trackers: some sources say it can still drop from that pool on rare occasions, others report that Valve quietly removed the hidden mechanism behind old operation cases sometime around late 2025. Valve hasn't issued any official clarification. Given that uncertainty, in practice the vast majority of players just buy the Operation Hydra Case on the market. You can't open the case without a key: a fresh key, bought directly through Steam at the moment you open the case, costs $2.49 in the US Steam region (often rounded to $2.50; other currencies have their own regional price) — a price that hasn't changed since 2013. Add $2.49 for the key to the case's price, and one attempt costs roughly $29.82 total.
Is the Operation Hydra Case Worth Opening
By the raw math, the Operation Hydra Case, like any CS2 case, isn't built to turn a profit on average: roughly 95.9% of openings land on one of the two bottom rarities (Mil-Spec plus Restricted), and most of those results are worth noticeably less than the $29.82 cost of opening, let alone less than the case's expensive outcomes — Covert skins and gloves. Current tracker estimates put the average value of what you actually pull noticeably below the cost of opening; the exact ROI shifts with market prices and depends on the calculation method, but mathematically the Operation Hydra Case remains negative on expected return. If the goal is one specific skin or one specific glove finish, it's cheaper and more reliable to just buy it directly: the odds of landing one specific finish out of the 24, assuming equal odds for each, come out to about 1 in 9,230 openings. Since the 2025 trade-up contract expansion, gloves can also be obtained through a contract of five regular Covert skins; the result depends on the rare-special-item pools tied to the skins used, so the contract itself doesn't guarantee a specific model or finish from the Operation Hydra Case. Opening this case makes sense as entertainment with a clear, modest stake — about $29.82 per attempt — not as a cheap way to land a specific rare item.
Operation Hydra Case Economics by Rarity
All five rarity tiers in one table, from the most common outcome to the rarest:
| Rarity | Odds | Price Range |
|---|---|---|
| Mil-Spec Grade | 79.92% | $2.5 to $107 |
| Restricted | 15.98% | $13 to $95 |
| Classified | 3.2% | $42 to $345 |
| Covert | 0.64% | $244 to $595 |
| Gloves (rare drop) | 0.26% | $60 to $28,840 |
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I still get the Operation Hydra Case for free?
Practically no. The case was originally handed out only to holders of the Operation Hydra pass, which wrapped up in November 2017. After that it moved into the broader rare drop pool, but trackers disagree on whether that mechanism still works: some consider it active but extremely unlikely, others say Valve quietly disabled it. The reliable way to get the case today is to buy it on the market.
What does it cost to open the Operation Hydra Case?
Right now the case itself costs around $27.33, and a fresh key bought directly through Steam costs $2.49 in the US region (other currencies have their own regional price). Altogether one attempt costs roughly $29.82.
How do the gloves in the Operation Hydra Case differ from the ones in the Glove Case?
They don't — it's literally the same rare pool of 24 finishes across six models. Several CS2 cases share the exact same glove lineup; the only difference between the Operation Hydra Case and the Glove Case is in the 17 regular-rarity weapon skins.
Is it worth opening the case for the gloves?
The odds of pulling gloves are 0.26%, or roughly 1 in 385 openings, and assuming equal odds for each of the 24 finishes, the odds of landing one specific one come out to around 1 in 9,230. If you want a specific finish, it's cheaper and more reliable to just buy it directly on the market; opening the case only makes sense if the process itself matters more than a guaranteed result.
