The UK will host the first international esports competition for active military personnel next year, which are meant to function as a “collaborative arena for allied nations to sharpen the cyber skills that are critical for modern warfare.”
Dubbed the International Defence Esports Games (IDEG), the event will be hosted in the city of Sunderland, and the UK will collaborate with 40 other countries, including Canada and Poland. “Lessons from Ukraine have shown how gaming technology can train drone operators and develop the rapid decision-making skills essential for modern warfare,” said Louise Sandher-Jones, Minister for Veterans and People.
The events come as the lines between esports and real-life modern warfare may be blurring. The Guardian reported earlier this year that an esports-style drone-attack rewards system is popular among Ukrainian military units, and is being extended to other areas of the military. Virtual drone simulators have been widely used by the Ukrainian military in training.
The system, which reportedly launched more than a year ago, rewards units that achieve successful drone strikes with points that can be exchanged for more weapons, like in a video game. The Guardian reported that 18,000 Russian soldiers have been killed by drone teams competing for points under the “Army of Drones Bonus System” during September 2025.
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Meanwhile, entrepreneurs from the VR and AR gaming space, such as Oculus VR founder Palmer Luckey, have signed contracts to develop technology for the US military.
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I’m a reporter covering weekend news. Before joining PCMag in 2024, I picked up bylines in BBC News, The Guardian, The Times of London, The Daily Beast, Vice, Slate, Fast Company, The Evening Standard, The i, TechRadar, and Decrypt Media.
I’ve been a PC gamer since you had to install games from multiple CD-ROMs by hand. As a reporter, I’m passionate about the intersection of tech and human lives. I’ve covered everything from crypto scandals to the art world, as well as conspiracy theories, UK politics, and Russia and foreign affairs.
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