# Esports and Military Recruitment **Domain:** Military recruitment / Media culture **Doc Type:** Developed Relationship Node **Maturity:** Developed **Collection:** [[collections/Gamification|Gamification Collection]] ## Definition **Esports and military recruitment** describes the use of competitive-gaming teams, events, livestreams, sponsorships, and communities to present military service to gaming audiences and create contact with potential recruits. ## Significance Esports changes the recruitment surface. Instead of beginning with a conventional advertisement or recruiting office, contact can occur through shared play, chat, influencer culture, and team affiliation. That makes disclosure, age, platform rules, moderation, and the distinction between community participation and recruiting intent important. The relationship is documented, but it should not be inflated into a claim that every military gaming program is primarily a recruiting operation or that participants are unknowingly enlisted. Program mandates and actual practices must be evaluated individually. ## Sources - U.S. Department of Defense, [Military esports: how gaming is changing recruitment and morale](https://www.war.gov/News/Feature-Stories/Story/article/3244620/military-esports-how-gaming-is-changing-recruitment-morale/) - U.S. Army, [Army esports team](https://www.army.mil/esports/) ## Routes [[wiki/Air Force Gaming|Air Force Gaming]] · [[wiki/Gamer-to-Drone-Pilot Recruitment|Gamer-to-Drone-Pilot Recruitment]] · [[wiki/America's Army|America's Army]] · [[wiki/Military-Entertainment Complex|Military-Entertainment Complex]]