The U.S. Army was at one time the world's most (in)famous video game military recruiting tool, but now that it has disappeared, the UK is taking its chances. The British Army will be live streaming Operation: and influencer-led competition next week.

Yung Filly and Elz the Witch will face off on this map next week, but it has not yet been approved by Epic Games and is not open to the public.

It is also possible that Epic will turn away British troops; Epic's rules for commercial and sponsored content state that they "shall not promote enlistment in the military,"

making Operation: Belong a rather blatant recruitment effort. It is a rather blatant recruiting effort: "Work as one. Test your agility. Solve the mystery. Overcome obstacles. Put your training to work.

Epic has not commented on the state of the map, other than to say that it is currently undergoing a moderation process.

"The island has not yet been released to Fortnite (i.e., players cannot access it) and is in moderation like all content in the Fortnite ecosystem," an Epic representative said in a statement provided to PC Gamer. "All content and creators must adhere to the Content Guidelines and Creator Rules. Island is currently in moderation and we are in contact with creators as the situation may evolve."

Reaction to the trailer on Twitter has been predictably mixed: some say the map looks fun, while others see it as a ridiculous "Black Mirror," as one reply put it.

"I can't believe my tax dollars are being used to recruit children into the military," was one response.

"This is despicable. Shame on everyone involved in this," wrote another. And, of course, there was the classic question, "What is your favorite war crime?"

The British Army has hidden some of the more vehement replies, which can be seen by clicking on the icon at the bottom right of the tweet, just below the trailer:

While this map may circumvent the letter of the law and get permission, if not the spirit, seen in the trailer That big, bold "you belong here" message seen in the trailer is literally the slogan of the British Army's Employment and Recruitment Department:

It may not matter if it is not actually on the map, but the overall theme is quite central seems to be.

Neither Yung Filly nor Elz the Witch have commented on social media about their participation in the upcoming games. The use of video games aimed at young gamers (let's remember that "Fortnite" is rated for teens) to recruit the military is unpopular at best, and especially so among the younger online demographic that seems to make up the majority of their audience. Thanks to British participation in attacks against Houthi rebels in Yemen, the British military, and the West's tendency toward gunboat diplomacy in general, has been thrust into the spotlight.

This is not the first time the military sector has turned to video games to market itself. The direct use of video games as a recruiting tool dates back at least to the 2002 release of America's Army. The game lasted for 20 years before it was finally pulled the plug, so it must have been at least reasonably effective in drawing aimless youth into the military machine; China also tried its hand at this game with the 2011 release of "Glorious Mission," a game featuring the People's Liberation Army. Unsurprisingly, it was not released in Western countries.

The U.S. military later entered esports and streaming, but this did not go so smoothly. In 2020, the then-newly established Army Twitch channel was almost immediately flooded with questions about war crimes, and efforts to moderate the chat violated the First Amendment: the Shroud is not an agency of the U.S. government and can do whatever it wants, but the U.S. Army is and is limited in its ability to tell people what they can and cannot say in public.

The big British Army battle in Fortnite is scheduled for January 24, presumably on the British Army's still-active Twitch channel. We have asked the British Army, as well as Yung Filly and Elz the Witch, for comment and will update this article if we hear back.