“This is a great day for the women of Riot Games – and for women in all video game and technology companies – who deserve a workplace free of harassment and discrimination,” said plaintiffs’ attorney Genie Harrison. “We appreciate Riot’s self-reflection and work since 2018 to become a more diverse and inclusive company.”

Riot Games wanted to settle dispute as early as 2019 – but pay less

Riot Games had already tried to reach a settlement at the end of 2019. However, the value at the time was only 10 million US dollars. At that time, the US Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) had relented and declared that the affected parties were entitled to a compensation of 400 million US dollars.

The new settlement is between the DFEH, the California Department of Labor Standards Enforcement (DLSE), and various individual plaintiffs. At least 2,300 California employees are eligible to receive a portion of the $80 million settlement if they identify as female and worked at Riot Games between November 2014 and the date of the settlement. The amount of the payout is based on the length of employment.

To ensure that the plaintiffs receive their money, Riot Games is paying into a settlement fund, the contents of which will go to the claimants on a pro rata basis upon court approval. Lead plaintiff McCracken reportedly settled for an undisclosed sum with the developer. However, Riot Games did not disclose whether plaintiffs who reached individual settlements will receive money from the $80 million fund.

Sexism at LoL developer: Riot Games promises better workplace policies

In addition to paying millions, Riot Games vows workplace policy reforms. These include, for example, greater transparency in salary scales for job applicants. The developer and publisher also pledges to implement a policy requiring the presence of a woman or a member of an underrepresented group on employee selection panels.

Both sides have signed and submitted the agreement to the court, but final approval through a judicial hearing is pending. A date for that hearing has not yet been set.

Also of interest: Activision Blizzard: Now Nintendo also comments on the Kotick case

The settlement just reached relates to a class action lawsuit filed in 2018, and has yet to settle a harassment and discrimination lawsuit filed in 2021 by a former assistant against CEO Nicolas Laurent. Riot Games denied these allegations and, following an investigation commissioned by the studio, announced that no wrongdoing could be proven against the CEO. According to Riot Games, the case has subsequently moved to arbitration.