Description
Since the US Army introduced military esports in 2018, participation in gaming competitions has expanded across all service branches of the US Armed Forces. A novel means for the US military to connect with civilians and potential recruits, this phenomenon remains largely underexplored in academic literature. Addressing this gap, this paper explores how military recruitment efforts within esports tournaments, conventions and on gaming(adjacent) platforms fit into the Military-Industrial-Media-Entertainment Network. By mapping partnerships, sponsorships, and collaborations among the esports sector, the defense industry, the US military and the US Department of Defense, this paper seeks to contribute to broader scholarly debates about the mobilization of popular culture in the organization of armed forces. More specifically, the paper examines how the instrumentalization of competitive gaming in military recruitment form part of a wider network of societal actors in US defense and esport landscapes. While existing scholarship on military recruitment has shown how Western militaries attract enlistees through narratives of employability and skill transferability, this paper highlights how gamers are targeted specifically for their expertise developed through play. The demand for such skills could be understood in relation to the growing value placed on technical proficiency within modern Western militaries, particularly amid the increasing use of autonomous and remotely operated weapons systems and vehicles. This paper tentatively suggests that emerging digital and gaming arenas act as sites where the civilian-military divide is bridged through interactive experiences that lend new forms of authenticity to military engagement with games and gaming.
