Riot Games, the company best known for League of Legends, has said it will pay $100 million to settle a class-action gender discrimination lawsuit that was filed in 2018.
The sum will “correct violations against approximately 1,065 women employees and 1,300 women contract workers” according to California’s Department of Fair Employment & Housing (DFEH).
The firm was accused of “systemic sex discrimination and harassment” by the DFEH, which spurred an investigation.
Riot Games acknowledged its responsibilities and apologized for the mistakes that have been made in the past.
Members of the class action claim will receive approximately $80m (£59m) in compensation and a little over $20 million (£15 million) to cover litigation expenses.
The 2018 case was the result of investigations by the Los Angeles Times and news website Kotaku.
Riot was accused of fostering a “bro culture” in the original complaint against the firm, which included a variety of allegations.
According to the complaint, female workers were sexually objectified, with an email chain rating “the company’s most attractive women employees” and that unsolicited photos of male genitals had been distributed to staff by their bosses and coworkers.
Riot agreed to employment changes, outside expert review of its compensation, hiring, and promotion processes, as well as three years of monitoring for sexual harassment and “retaliation” at its California workplaces.
The settlement also requires the firm to create 40 full-time jobs in engineering, quality assurance, or art-design roles for its former contract workers.
Kevin Kish, the Director of the DFEH, wrote in a letter to the court that if the settlement is approved, it will result in long-term reform at Riot Games and “send a message that all industries in California, including gaming, must give equal pay and eliminate discrimination and harassment.”
The DFEH and another agency had rejected the agreement to settle for $10m in 2019, claiming that the compensation amount was far higher.
According to the Washington Post, the firm acknowledged it hadn’t always respected its ideals, stating, “While we’re proud of how far we’ve come since 2018, we must also accept responsibility for the past.”
“We hope that this settlement adequately reflects those who have had negative experiences at Riot.”
Riot’s executive team has published a letter to employees on Riot’s website, stating that the agreement was “the correct thing to do for both the firm and those whose experiences at Riot fell short of our standards and values.”
The firm stated that it had made changes at all levels since 2018, including the appointment of its first chief people officer and first chief diversity officer, as well as a change in its values, new training requirements, and an expansion of its diversity and inclusion group.
Riot Games is not the only prominent gaming company to receive criticism for its corporate culture. The DFEH is likewise pursuing Activision Blizzard, the creator of World of Warcraft, Overwatch, and Call of Duty.
The US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has reached an $18 million settlement with Activision Blizzard, according to the Wall Street Journal, after accusing the company of sex discrimination and harassment.