Here’s to hoping that the Riot lawsuit is just the start
The international publisher behind multiplayer titles like League of Legends and VALORANT will now pay at least $80 million to settlement class members with the rest going to legal fees for a total of $100 million in compensation. In addition to this, Riot will also agree to address issues within the workplace that brought about the issues in the first place, including at least three years of monitoring from a third party and making salaries more transparent as between employees. The settlement comes at least three years after current and former Riot employees filed a class-action lawsuit against Riot Games back in 2018. The suit outlined a toxic environment that fostered misogynist tendencies and hindered female employees from promotions. Riot had already agreed to settle the lawsuit in 2019 for $10 million but both the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) and Division of Labor Standards Enforcement (DLSE) argued to block the settlement after agreeing that the women at Riot Games should receive much more. According to the DFEH, up to 1,065 female employees and 1,300 female contractors at Riot Games are entitled to the compensation fund. Riot is one of the most prominent gaming publishers in the world. It is 100% owned by the Chinese entertainment conglomerate, Tencent. For years, Riot only focused its efforts on one game, League of Legends. The popular MOBA title reportedly made $2 billion in revenue in 2020. However, since then, Riot has expanded its efforts. Earlier this year, Riot started hiring for a League of Legends MMO as well as a League of Legends Cinematic Universe.
