Exploring Opportunities in... Defence & Esports
Gaming is no longer a niche entertainment category. The global games market is approaching $200bn, around 50 times Formula 1’s 2025 revenue, while UK consumers spent £7.6bn on video games in 2024. For investors, the opportunity is not esports teams or individual titles; it is the picks and shovels: simulation, training, cyber skills, digital twins, AI content, talent discovery and the platforms that translate gaming-native behaviours into Defence and industrial capability.
Britain has long led in both creative technology and military capability. This event explores how those strengths now converge, as game engines, immersive environments and competitive gaming cultures become relevant to military training, cyber readiness, autonomous systems and future talent pipelines. It also asks how the UK can turn its games sector into a source of sovereign capability, strategic advantage and soft power.
We will explore the novel opportunities emerging in the overlap between these arenas: where gaming becomes training, where simulation becomes strategy, where esports becomes a talent signal, and where creative technology becomes national capability. We will also examine the ethical questions raised when play, training, talent development and warfare begin to overlap, and what this means for entrepreneurs, investors and Defence leaders.
Expert Panel
This session brings together three perspectives: esports as a talent and engagement platform, Defence as a national capability challenge, and cyber as one of the most urgent skills gaps facing the UK.
Chester King President, British Esports
Founder of British Esports, the UK’s national body for esports. Chester brings the view from competitive gaming, digital skills, youth engagement and the development of esports as a serious national capability.
Lieutenant General Sir Tom Copinger-Symes KCB CBE (Retd)
Former Deputy Commander, Cyber & Specialist Operations Command
A senior British Army officer focused on cyber, data, digital capability and multi-domain integration. Tom brings the Defence perspective on how gaming, simulation, esports and immersive technology can support future readiness, talent and operational advantage.
Fergus Hay, Founder & CEO, The Hacking Games
Founder of The Hacking Games, an entertainment, training and talent platform focused on developing the next generation of ethical hackers. Fergus brings the cyber talent, Gen Z culture and gamified skills-development perspective.
About this event
This event is hosted by London Venture Club, a private learning and networking community for successful entrepreneurs, active investors and senior leaders.
LVC brings together thoughtful, commercially minded people for candid, off-the-record discussions on the themes shaping capital allocation, company building and long-term opportunity. Our events are deliberately curated, with no sales pitches and no unnecessary slide decks, just high-quality people exploring where genuine value may be created.
This session is part of our wider programme of insight-led events focused on innovation, investment, technology, science, geopolitics and the sectors where Britain has the potential to lead.
Attendance is by invitation and registration is subject to confirmation.