In August, League of Legends studio Riot Games announced an agreement to settle a class action lawsuit filed against it in 2018 over pervasive sexism and gender-based discrimination at the studio. The studio said at the time that its internal investigation found that "gender discrimination (in pay or promotion), sexual harassment, and retaliation are not systemic issues at Riot," but acknowledged that "some Rioters have had experiences that did not live up to our values or culture."
The Los Angeles Times reported today that the settlement will cost Riot at least $10 million, which will be divided between approximately 1,000 women employed by the studio between November 2014 and the finalization of the settlement, which still needs to be settled by the court. Individual payouts will vary depending on the length of the employment period, as well as whether the workers were full-time employees, or on contract.
The settlement also commits Riot to continuing to improve its internal culture through better channels for reporting harassment and discrimination, a review of all pay, promotion, and hiring practices, and creating employee groups to track the company's progress. Riot hired its first-ever chief diversity officer, Angela Roseboro, in March 2019.
"We’re pleased to have a proposed settlement to fully resolve the class action lawsuit," a Riot rep said. "The settlement is another important step forward, and demonstrates our commitment to living up to our values and to making Riot an inclusive environment for the industry’s best talent."
Analyst firm Superdata estimated that League of Legends pulled in $1.4 billion in 2018.
