Goodbye eSports: The 2017 AP Style Guide will settle the esports spelling debate once and for all

So long eSports, and goodbye e-sports—the Associated Press has finally put the debate to bed.

The 2017 AP Style Guide, the generally accepted reference for journalists worldwide, will be updated to include “esports” as the definitive way to write the word, according to Lou Kesten, a video game reviewer for the Associated Press.

The industry-defining news was revealed at the 2017 American Copy Editors Society convention in St. Petersburg, Florida yesterday, a location that will now surely go down in esports history. According to Kesten, the change was made due to “industry trends and general usage.”

AP style had previously considered esports to be written “e-sports”—though not through any term of common usage or logic. By default all “e” prefixed words are hyphenated unless their un-hyphenated use becomes commonplace. Esports was not listed in previous editions of the guide, but will be added and join email as an exception to the rule on July 11 when the new style guide is released.

Because of the previous AP style, many traditional media outlets have capitalized the S when writing about esports. Some publications, however, have begun to correct themselves as they become more familiar with the industry, such as the BBC.

The capitalization debate has raged on for years and threatened friendships and business relationships, but the AP will officially put an end to this discussion when its new style guide is released.

Of course, Dot Esports has long been on the right side of history on this vital issue. Since 2014, Dot Esports has committed to using esports as the official spelling of the word.