On Friday, a California judge approved the $100 million gender discrimination settlement between Riot Games and over 1,000 women who were employed at the company from November 2014 and December 2021. Around 1,000 contractors who also worked at the company during that time frame are expected to be included in the settlement.
The lawsuit was filed in 2018 by current and former employees of Riot Games. The suit alleged widespread sexism and harassment at the company. In 2019, a $10 million settlement was proposed, but California’s Department of Fair Employment & Housing blocked the deal, stating the amount was too small. The DFEH instead proposed a $400 million settlement.
“My hope is that this serves as a wake-up call for the whole industry,” said Jes Negrón, one of the plaintiffs. “We’ve set a precedent that the sexist behavior that runs rampant at gaming companies is unacceptable and, when companies are unwilling to address it themselves in a meaningful way, women have options to get justice.”
As part of the settlement, Riot Games will be required to take action to ensure the fair treatment of its workforce. The company has agreed to three years of independent oversight via a contractor who will monitor things like pay disparity. The contractor will report their findings to Riot Games, which must take action to correct any inequalities.
This settlement comes during a tumultuous time for the gaming industry. Reports of rampant sexism, misconduct, and abuse have been levied at Ubisoft, Activision Blizzard, Amazon Game Studios, and more. Activision Blizzard has been the subject of several lawsuits, and California’s DFEH has already blocked settlement attempts on those suits, again citing the small size of the settlements.
