For a couple of years now, the Pentagon has raised a growing concern for the U.S. military: Recruitment levels are dropping pretty fast.

The Pentagon is particularly focused on recruitment levels for younger millennials and Gen Z.

A Department of Defense survey found that when young people were asked, "How likely is it that you will serve in the military?" only 11% responded "definitely" or "probably."

So, the military has been investing in some unexpected strategies, and a big one is video games. The Pentagon is hoping the world of esports, streaming, and gaming will turn things around for their generational recruitment crisis.

Technically, video games aren't totally new territory for U.S. military recruitment. In the early 2000s, the Pentagon released its own game called America’s Army, a multiplayer shooting game in the vein of Call of Duty or Counterstrike. After decades of pretty reasonable success, it eventually discontinued in early 2022.

The U.S. military has also collaborated with game makers behind franchises like Call of Duty or Doom, sometimes using modified versions of games to teach recruits, at other times consulting with game designers to plan "realistic" war scenarios or even recruiting game designers for Washington think tanks focused on military strategy.

So, this relationship is decades old. But, the dropping numbers of military applicants in recent years has ushered in a new era in the gaming-military complex, and this is where esports and streaming have really dominated.

There is now a pro-esports team for every branch of the military – even the space force. They compete with other pro teams, other military branches, and even other allied countries' military teams. The military also sponsors many esports tournaments, which helps enlarge their presence even more.

They've also steadily been streaming on the massively popular platform Twitch, the top gaming streaming site in the world, but this is where recruiters have most recently run into trouble.

Twitch's age limit is only 13 years old, and critics have objected to using such recruitment tactics on children. In some cases, the military allegedly had links with vague messages like "Sign up to win!" which, when clicked through, only led to recruitment forms.

In 2020, Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez even proposed an amendment to a fiscal bill to stop the military from using video games for recruitment. Lawmakers voted against it, 292 votes to 126. Though it didn't pass, it renewed attention on the controversial practice and put a strain on the military's video game push.

Around the same time as the House vote, the Army found itself in hot water after banning viewers on Twitch who trolled and criticized the military, including writer and activist Jordan Uhl.

After being sued for violating free speech, the military temporarily left Twitch altogether.

Some critics have also pointed out the dangers of trivializing war and militarized violence for children, by equating it with a video game. Even today, the Air Force has a game directly on its website called Airman Challenge that lets you learn about drones and operate one to bomb "insurgents" in Middle Eastern countries like Afghanistan and Iraq.

It's unclear what exactly is next for the military's big recruitment push in video games. Although the recruitment practice has repeatedly found itself in controversy, it seems to be far from slowing down. Esports tournaments and sponsorships are only continuing, and the military has cautiously waded back into the world of streaming.

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For the first time in years, video game usage worldwide could fall.

Video game sales are expected to fall 1.2% this year after gaining 5% a year ago, according to a report from Ampere Analysis.

The report showed a huge jump in video game sales between 2019 and 2020 as the pandemic forced many in the world to remain home.

While global inflation is playing a factor in its report, Ampere Analysis also expects a drop in sales in Russia will also play a role. Russia is expected to drop from the 10th-largest gaming network to No. 14. Video game sales are expected to drop $1.2 billion in Russia alone.

The supply chain is also affecting access to consoles, especially in China, the analysis noted.

“After two years of huge expansion, the games market is poised to hand back a bit of that growth in 2022 as multiple factors combine to undermine performance,” said Piers Harding Rolls, research director for Ampere Anaylsis. “Even so, the year will end well ahead of pre- pandemic performance, and the outlook for the sector as a whole remains positive, with growth forecast to return in 2023.”

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Md. — The Olympics have dominated sports headlines, but another sport is plotting its own rise to the top. Some people are asking when we might see a gold medalist in esports.

If you ask Josh Hafkin, he would tell you video games aren’t his whole life. But, if you look around his office, it’s a bit of a different story.

Hafkin is the CEO of Game Gym.

“Game Gym is an esports training center and broadcast center,” said Hafkin. "We started with an afternoon program and private lessons, and we quickly grew to summer camps, tournaments, events, birthdays, we kind of have done it all in the industry.”

If you haven’t heard of esports, it’s competitive video games. Game Gym is kind of an all-in-one youth training center.

“In the video game world, there’s no one guiding kids, there’s no one helping kids navigate this path and that’s really dangerous,” said Hafkin.

Hafkin has won over the minds of many to show that esports is a viable industry. That includes his partner, Evan Shubin.

“I was definitely an extremely skeptical parent. I had two boys that were teenagers and very, very avid gamers, League of Legends and Overwatch, and I thought it was a big waste of time,” said Shubin.

But Shubin enrolled his kids in Game Gym’s after-school program. When one of his sons received grants to be a part of the esports program at Ohio State, he did a 180 and decided to invest in Game Gym.

“The industry is growing, no questions about it, and so there are jobs in esports and there will be more jobs. If you think about the NBA, only a tiny fraction of basketball players get paid to play basketball. But the coaches, the trainers, the general managers, the business managers, the sponsorship sales folks, all of those people are making money in the basketball industry,” said Shubin.

Game Gym hopes to be a part of the growing industry and so does the Washington Justice, a professional Overwatch League team.

“So, the same way there’s the NBA for basketball, the NHL for hockey, there’s the Overwatch League which is a professional league that has 20 teams in it,” said Grant Paranjape, the vice president of esports business with the Justice. “We are the DMV’s professional Overwatch League team."

The Justice and the Overwatch League are just one section of a growing industry. According to Newzoo, the industry is expected to produce over $1 billion for the first time this year.

While those numbers are still dwarfed by other professional sports leagues, it has some people curious if in the future we might see esports on an even bigger stage.

“I think we absolutely will see esports in the Olympics. It’s something that they’re already kind of teasing,” said Hafkin.

“Viewership is down for the Olympics. They are really struggling,” said Paranjape.

But just because it seems like esports teams could be competing for gold doesn’t mean those in the industry think it’s the best idea to grow the sport.

“We’ve kind of come around to the idea that esports doesn’t really need the Olympics. The Olympics might need esports,” said Paranjape.

“If they can make it and validate it, then it could be huge. If they just use it as a marketing tool to sell more Coca-Cola sponsorships, I’m less cool with that,” said Hafkin.

So, the jury is still out on if and how we might see esports on the international stage, but without a doubt, esports are here to stay.

Here's your shot at getting paid to play video games.

Internet provider FrontierBundles is offering $2,000 to pairs of friends willing to play 21 hours of video games together and report back on their experience.

The company wants to know if people play video games better solo or with someone on their side. It says it's celebrating a big gaming year, as some long-awaited titles are coming out, such as "Resident Evil Village" and "Mario Golf: Super Rush."

There are also some significant video game anniversaries this year. "Donkey Kong" is turning 40. "The Legend of Zelda" is turning 35. "Sonic the Hedgehog" and "Street Fighter II" both turn 30.

You can apply for yourself and your gaming buddy on FrontierBundles.com until June 18 at 11:59 p.m. PDT. Applicants are asked what their favorite game is and why they should be chosen.

There will be two sets of winners from anywhere in the United States, and duos don't need to play together in person. FrontierBundles says it's looking for "pairs of gamers with a ton of virtual history."

FrontierBundles says it will notify winners by June 25. They will get a bag with a Nintendo Switch Lite, access to "modern video game favorites and retro video game classics," as well as some snacks.