Game on: Why esports are enjoying a surge of support in the UK Armed Forces
Esports and gaming are terms which, by some, are used interchangeably to describe participation in Rocket League, Call of Duty, League of Legends or Formula One in the forces.
While there has been a swell of support and popularity for esports in the UK military, some naysayers have used the term "gaming" pejoratively to suggest players are simply lazy, not serious, or merely wasting time.
Speaking to those who balance their service life with devotion to competitive esports, there is palpable excitement for their growth and there is clear backing from their chain-of-command.
Why, though, does the military care? It does so for reasons beyond simply supporting the interests of its personnel.
Speaking to BFBS at an esports engagement event in 2024, Lieutenant General Sir Tom Copinger-Symes explained: "This is something that contributes massively to digital skills and we really want you to be playing these games and we want to give you support doing it because we recognise the benefits it could bring to defence."
Claire Fry, Digital Skills for Defence Programme Lead told BFBS last year: "The ability to think strategically, to come up with different ways of doing things, it's about the ability to be able to use technology and devices, so learning those fine motor skills is really important as well."
Jason Fox, of SAS: Who Dares Wins fame, addressed the benefits of esports at the internationally-renowned Code Bowl in 2024.
He said: "It's always good to have some form of virtual battlefield scenario training to do, because obviously it's great because you're not using training areas, you're saving a bit of cash.
"But you're making sure that the people that are involved in those virtual training sessions, like COD [Call of Duty], are aware of what they need to do when they actually then get out on the ground, so I suppose it brings a bit more situational awareness before you actually then start doing things."
Squadron Leader Scott Lee, RAF Air Cadets Esports Lead, who attended the inaugural BFBS Pro League Grand Final in 2025, summed up the significance of how it can benefit mental health.
"It's a really nice place if you're having a bad day or you know one of your friends is having a bad day, you can go on Discord, just put on a game," he said.
"And just have a chat and just understand what's going on in their day-to-day and just talk about it really, and I think sometimes people don't realise that talking about the struggles you're going through.
"It then starts a conversation with people going through those same struggles and then you can actually help each other out rather sitting in silence in a room by yourself playing a solo game."
For RAF esports ambassador Stelios Elia, there is quite a bit of mythbusting that he and his team have had to deal with when approaching potential newcomers, or even combatting aged stereotypes that it's a lazy person's endeavour.
"It takes so much concentration – if you ask any professional player after a day of scrims alone, which is what professional players call their training sessions, you will see that they come out drained, mentally drained and therefore also physically tired and I witness it every day with one of the teams that I coach," he said.
"It's a battle at times. Imagine that in a competition environment as well. It’s not the thing that everyone thinks, which is like it's a lazy sport, it really is mentally exhausting."
Esports stars argue that it is not just the mental side of things in the spotlight, but the physical factors that matter too.
"We'll encourage you to go to the gym, go work out, go for a run, because doing all this stuff staying physically fit will ultimately help you mentally when you get to the game as well," the RAF's Ed Nussey-Waite explained.
The Royal Air Force's Code Bowl Captain in 2024, Jamie Griffith, told BFBS: "Nutrition's massive. It goes for any sport – you need to be focused, you need to be concentrated, it all stems from that nutrition and training."
Elia said the RAF has players of all abilities and all sorts of roles available. Elia and Nussey-Waite say it’s much more accessible than people think, echoing the sentiments of many, that military esports are not only growing, but here to stay in a big way.
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