In a nutshell: While modern aircraft carriers are gigantic vessels packed with amenities one might not expect to see on a warship, the UK Royal Navy's HMS Prince of Wales has something unique: a full eSports/gaming suite for the crew to compete against each other.
In February, permission was given to set up the suite on the 1,600-crew carrier as part of a partnership between the Royal Navy and the British eSports Federation.
The gaming room includes 12 high-end Alienware Aurora R15 gaming desktop PCs, featuring RTX 4080 graphics cards and Core i7 CPUs – the systems are capable of running far more than just low-demand eSports games. The room also has LED lights, a widescreen TV, and office chairs.
Martin Miller, the ship's Chief Petty Officer and vice-chairman of the Royal Navy's eSports committee, manages the gaming room. He told Business Insider that after his typical day ends at 8pm, he likes to spend a few hours in the air-conditioned suite enjoying some games of Civilization VI.
"Other ships have PlayStations and Xboxes down on the mess deck so they can play where they live, but this is the first ship that's got a PC setup like this," Miller said.
The facility's primary function is to enhance the living experience of the crew of HMS Prince of Wales and foster social connections during its eight-month global deployment to the Indo-Pacific region.
Miller said officers and leaders book the suite for their teams about three times per week, while sailors use it ad-hoc every evening while at sea. The facility is valued as a method of cross-rank bonding.
A launch event and international tournament in the facility have been planned, and future leagues will be organized with Royal Navy eSports.
While at sea, the carrier's internet is usually only able to support simple text messages, so the crew makes do with local multiplayer games such as Halo and Team Fortress 2.
The UK's Ministry of Defence (MoD) recognized eSports as an official military sport in March 2024, giving it the same formal status as traditional sports like shooting and rugby. The MoD sees embracing gamer culture as a way of attracting and retaining young people, particularly for roles in cyber defence and technology-focused positions. The UK government launched a recruitment plan this year to fast-track gamers into cyber defence roles.
Gaming takes the helm: aircraft carrier installs high-end eSports suite for crew
