Upgrader — CS2 skin upgrades, odds, and withdrawals

Upgrader.pro focuses on upgrading CS2 skins instead of opening standard cases. The player picks one or more skins (site balance can also be used), then selects any skin from the list to see the calculated chance of a successful upgrade. You can use items from your own inventory or skins from the Store using your site balance.

Below is our team's full breakdown of the platform and how it performed in our tests.

How upgrades differ from opening cases

Instead of a preset pool of possible drops from a case, Upgrader uses a modified, expanded take on CS trade-up contracts. You set the input value yourself and choose the skin you want to get. Unlike a standard trade-up, Upgrader has a success roll. The more expensive the target skin is compared with your stake, the lower the chance of a successful upgrade.

If the upgrade hits, the target skin goes into your inventory; if it misses, the skins you put in are lost. You can immediately use a won item in another, more expensive upgrade, but chaining upgrades like this raises the risk of losing.

Choosing items, a target skin, and calculating the odds

You can combine several items into one upgrade if one item alone is not enough to reach the upgrade chance you want. 

To start an upgrade:

1. Choose one or more skins from your inventory or the Store.
2. Choose the skin you want to upgrade to from the list.
3. Click the "Upgrade" button.
4. Get the upgraded skin or a consolation prize from a case after a loss.

We recommend choosing a percentage that balances the odds with the value of the skins you put in, because even a 99% chance can still lose.

Upgrade modes and settings

Users have several ways to speed up skin selection and the upgrade process.

You can choose a preset multiplier:

There are also presets for upgrade chance:

• 35% - the riskier preset;
• 55% - the middle option;
• 75% - a higher calculated chance.

You can also click the lightning icon above the selected skin to turn on the fast animation.

All these presets are meant to save time when picking skins for a specific upgrade. Instead of manually picking Consumer Grade items from your inventory for an upgrade to an AWP | Gungnir, you can put together the upgrade with what you already have in a couple of clicks.

How we tested the upgrade

We set aside a $120 budget to test the site, topped up our balance, and selected skins from Upgrader's Store.

We ran every upgrade using the available presets, but we did not manage to hit a single upgrade at 35% or with the x8 preset.

Our biggest hit came on the x4 preset, when we put in an item from a consolation case: Sticker | m0NESY (Holo) | Copenhagen 2024 worth 7.08 USCOINS. It upgraded into an AWP | Ice Coaled worth 25.49 USCOINS.

The upgrade experience was pretty good, especially compared with regular trade-up contracts. Good-looking animations, easy skin selection from the inventory and for the upgrade target, and a solid set of features are all major positives for Upgrader. The cases you get after a failed upgrade also let you keep upgrading skins.

Skin catalog and site balance

The catalog separates the user's own skins from items available as upgrade targets. 

In both the Store catalog and the upgrade catalog, you can filter skins by:

• Price range;
• Price, low to high or high to low;
• Wear level in the search box, plus an option to show only StatTrak™ skins.

The site balance can be used on its own or together with skins. It acts as an extra source of funds for upgrades and is tied to the deposit and bonus system.

Deposit methods

Upgrader offers three different deposit methods, and all payments are processed within 30 minutes.

In the deposit window, users only need to choose the category they want and then a specific method.

You can also add a promo code with any payment method to increase your deposit.

Registration and inventory

The only way to sign in or register on the site is through Steam. After that, the account is linked to the user's Steam profile and inventory.

Skin withdrawals

After a successful run of upgrades, you can withdraw the upgraded skins to your Steam inventory through a trade. In our test, the trade took 16 minutes, although the platform says withdrawals can take up to 180 minutes.

Some operations may trigger an additional check or restriction, which is worth keeping in mind before withdrawing skins to your inventory.

Provably Fair

Upgrader has a separate Provably Fair section, so result verification is a standalone feature on the site. There, you can view and change your Client Seed, but you cannot view the Server Seed, its history, or the Secret Salt.

Bonuses, VIP Club, and events

The official site suggests enabling push notifications for new events, exclusive raffles, skin giveaways, personal promo codes, and bonuses. The materials we reviewed do not confirm a fixed deposit bonus, so check the promo terms right before you deposit.

Cashback can be claimed on Fridays regardless of your VIP level.

The platform also runs events from time to time, and Streamers Battle was live when our team reviewed the site. This event turns regular upgrades into a team competition. Players choose a team, and their actions earn points for it; they cannot switch sides until the event ends. This event also featured a territory map, leaderboards, and rewards, while attempts with odds below 10% did not count.

What Upgrader offers CS2 players

Upgrader.pro is aimed at players who would rather choose their own reward and risk level than use traditional case-opening mechanics. Everything else on the platform is built around that one mechanic, including promos, the VIP Club, the Store, the live feed, and events.

The main practical risk comes from the upgrade model itself: the more expensive the target, the lower the odds, and a failed upgrade costs you the skin you put in. You do get a chance to "win back" the loss through a case, but the odds of breaking even are low.

Upgrader.pro rating: 8.1/10

Upgrader.pro gets 8.1 out of 10 thanks to its easy-to-use upgrade system, clear risk options, good interface, range of bonuses, and relatively fast withdrawals in our tests. The platform is at its best in its main mode: picking skins is easy, the animations look good, and the presets make it quick to set the upgrade value and odds. It falls short of a higher score because Provably Fair is not fully transparent, some withdrawals can take up to three hours, and there is not much variety.