- 11,166 XP a week at full rate
- Care package: pick 2 of 4
- One mission a week
- Rank 40 = Service Medal
Every CS2 match pays XP, and XP pays out three ways: a new Profile Rank, the weekly care package and β at rank 40 β a Service Medal. It's also where most confusion lives, because Valve publishes very little: one weekly number, a few rules in its patch notes and nothing about XP per rank. This guide separates what Valve has said from what the community has measured, and covers XP per match, the weekly cap, the care package, weekly missions, the 2026 Service Medal and the Armory. Checked 2026-10-25.
- 11,166 XP a week at the full rate (Valve, 6 February 2024).
- Competitive and Premier: about 30 XP per round your team wins β a community figure; Valve publishes no formula.
- Care package: unlocked by your first rank-up of the week; you pick 2 of 4 (community).
- One mission a week since 7 May 2025 β it expires after 7 days.
- No Prime, no XP: free accounts earn no XP, ranks or care packages.
How much XP a match gives
Valve has never published an XP formula. The figures players use come from community testing (Refrag, May 2024):
| Mode | XP (community figure) |
|---|---|
| Competitive and Premier | 30 XP per round your team wins |
| Wingman | 15 XP per round won |
| Casual | 4 XP per point of score |
| Deathmatch, Arms Race | 0.2 XP per point of score |
Valve's own notes confirm only the edges: since 8 August 2024 Casual gives an extra score point for every round in which you damaged an enemy, since 4 October 2024 knife and utility damage no longer count towards score in Casual, Competitive and Wingman, and on 7 May 2026 Valve "adjusted XP limits in Deathmatch and Arms Race". In practice a full Competitive or Premier match is the steadiest XP there is β on the community figure even a loss pays for the rounds your team won.
The weekly cap and XP Overload
On 6 February 2024 Valve added the XP Overload status for players "who have earned all of their normal XP during the week (11,166 XP)". After that you still earn XP, at a reduced rate Valve doesn't publish, and the tag stays for a minimum of one week. Valve shows the time to the weekly rollover in your profile tooltip (added 16 November 2023) but not a fixed day; community trackers put it at Tuesday evening Pacific time β about 01:00 UTC on Wednesday.
- 11,166XP a week at the full rate
- 40Profile Ranks, Recruit to Global General
- 2 of 4care-package picks (community)
- 40Armory Credits per pass
The weekly care package
Valve replaced CS:GO's random weekly drops on 27 September 2023: "Replaced weekly drops with a weekly Care Package. Choose from weapon cases, weapon finishes, and graffiti". Community guides add the details Valve didn't write down: the package unlocks with your first Profile Rank-up of the week, you choose 2 of 4 offered items, and the choice always includes at least a case, a weapon finish and a graffiti. You need Prime. Valve rotates what can drop:
- 31 March 2025Drop pool update
Ascent, Boreal and Radiant collections added; Bank, Italy, Lake and the original Train removed.
- 21 January 2026Drop pool update
Harlequin and Achroma added; Safehouse, Dust 2, 2018 Nuke and 2018 Inferno removed.
- 16 September 2025Genesis Uplink Terminal
Available as a weekly drop β it opens access to that collection's items.
- 11 March 2026Dead Hand Terminal
Available as a weekly drop β it opens access to that collection's items.
Weekly missions
Since 7 May 2025 Valve gives "one mission each week". It expires after 7 days and pays XP on completion β community guides report 900 or 450 XP. It's the easiest XP of the week, so do it first.
The 2026 Service Medal
Profile Ranks run from Recruit (1) to Global General (40). Valve's rule for the year: "Reach Global General (Rank 40) to reset your Profile Rank and earn (or upgrade) your 2026 Service Medal." The new medal became available on 1 January 2026. Each time you pass rank 40 again the same year you upgrade it instead of earning a second one β the medal shows on your profile, the rank resets, and XP keeps counting from rank 1. Passing rank 10 is also what unlocks Premier; the Premier unlock guide covers that climb.
The Armory and Armory Credits
The Armory arrived on 2 October 2024: "Purchase and activate an Armory Pass to start earning Armory Credits", and "Make progress toward credits whenever you earn XP with an active Armory Pass". Since 6 November 2024 activating a pass no longer gives the first credit straight away β all 40 credits are earned by playing. Credits are spent in the Armory on items such as cases, charms, stickers and Limited Edition finishes, which Valve keeps rotating:
- 21 January 2026: Limited Edition AK-47 | Aphrodite added to the Armory.
- 8 July 2026: Spy Tech and Arabesque collections and two sticker capsules added.
Valve's Armory page didn't show a pass price when we checked, so we don't quote one β check the in-game store. Credits come from XP, so a pass fills fastest while your XP still counts at the full rate.
A weekly XP routine
- Start of the week:
Do the weekly mission and play your first matches β the rank-up opens the care package.
- Play full matches.
Competitive and Premier pay per round won; a long, close match pays more than a quick loss.
- Stop chasing XP after the cap.
Past 11,166 XP play for practice and rating, not for XP.
- Plan the medal.
The CS2 XP calculator shows how many weeks your rank needs at your pace.
Help while you level
- Get the most from your matches: 1-on-1 coaching β from $18.00 an hour.
- Play with a pro: duo games on your own account.
- Read next: CS2 Prime explained and the Premier season medal.
- Valve β release notes, 6 Feb 2024 (XP Overload) Β· 2026 Service Medal (26 Dec 2025) Β· Season 5, Armory, and More (8 Jul 2026) Β· CS2 update notes (27 Sep 2023; 8 Aug, 2 Oct, 4 Oct, 6 Nov 2024; 31 Mar, 7 May, 16 Sep 2025; 21 Jan, 11 Mar, 7 May 2026)
- Community: Refrag (10 May 2024, XP per round, care package), Refrag (missions), csdb.gg (reset time, reviewed 13 Jul 2026). Checked 2026-10-25.
All free tools: calculators, percentiles & season countdowns β
