HMS Prince of Wales
The British aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales has acquired a special room, which is equipped for leisure activities with computer games. They were previously available to military sailors, but in a limited format – usually there are several game consoles in the cabins of ships. And this facility was specially created for esports and is a joint project of the Royal Navy and the British Esports Federation.
The British Ministry of Defense recognized esports as an official sports discipline for the military in March 2024. There are two good reasons for this. First, it should attract IT and cybersecurity specialists to the army and navy. Secondly, in this way, the military leadership is trying to make the service more attractive to young people and increase the number of recruits.
HMS Prince of Wales
The game room on the aircraft carrier is equipped in an air-conditioned room with LED lighting and comfortable armchairs. The sailors have access to 12 powerful Alienware Aurora R15 gaming PCs with RTX 4080 graphics cards and Core i7 processors connected to a local network. Unfortunately, Internet access on a warship is strictly limited, and therefore you will not be able to play online games, but you can arrange tournaments within the aircraft carrier's team. The game room is managed directly by the ship's chief petty officer Martin Miller, who himself likes to play Civilization VI after his shift. According to him, the officers reserve a room three times a week, and it is available to the sailors every day. The main function of the facility is to enhance the quality of life of the crew of HMS Prince of Wales and strengthen social ties during its months—long expeditions.
Alexander Martynenko
