British Esports Federation, the national body for esports in the United Kingdom, has confirmed the full list of partners behind the International Defence Esports Games (IDEG) 2026.
IDEG is described as the first global esports tournament built specifically for military personnel. For the 2026 edition, 58 countries applied to take part, with ten nations ultimately qualifying to compete: Canada, France, Japan, the Netherlands, Romania, Saudi Arabia, Slovakia, Sri Lanka, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
The tournament featured competition across four games: Counter-Strike 2, Rocket League, iRacing, and VelociDrone. The live finals were held at the British Arena, with Canada winning the Counter-Strike 2 title and the United Kingdom collecting three trophies across the other events.
Putting on an event of this scale requires outside support, which is where this year’s list of founding partners comes in. IDEG 2026’s founding partners are Babcock International, BAE Systems, Bizzell, Dell Technologies, DXC, Lockheed Martin, M&C Saatchi World Services, and Sunderland City Council, each contributing to the event in a different role.
- Babcock International: Mission Partner
- BAE Systems Digital Intelligence: Digital Partner
- Bizzell: Energetics and Manufacturing Partner
- Dell Technologies: Technology Partner. Dell also ran a stand at the event, showcasing its products to attendees.
- DXC Technology: Enterprise and Innovations Partner. DXC set up a sim racing area where visitors could try to post the fastest lap times.
- Lockheed Martin: Strategic Partner
- M&C Saatchi World Services: Communications Partner. The agency’s Senior Account Director for Corporate Affairs, Hussein Khalil, also presented the trophies to winning teams on stage.
- Sunderland City Council: City Partner
IDEG was first announced in July 2025, when the Ministry of Defence revealed a new collaboration with the British Esports Federation to launch the tournament, with the stated goal of supporting military training and skills development through esports. Around the same time, British Esports and the Ministry of Defence also confirmed Sunderland as the host city for the inaugural edition of the Games, setting the stage for this year’s event at the British Arena.
