The developer behind the popular MOBA League of Legends (LoL) has come under scrutiny from authorities. An investigation is underway by a California agency for fair employment. The background concerns complaints that the LoL developer has discriminated against women for apparently years.
What’s going on at Riot Games? For about a year now there has been unrest at the highly successful LoL developer Riot Games. And this unrest simply does not subside.
After a major insider report from the site Kotaku exposed in mid-2018 (via Kotaku) that a misogynistic macho culture prevails at Riot, the company has come into the public spotlight.
Although Riot Games has taken initial steps to improve its image, the issues apparently run deeper and affect many employees and former employees.
This has been the peak of the crisis so far: Protests against the corporate culture reached a peak when 150 employees from Riot Games left the company building for a protest and protested in the parking lot. This was unprecedented in the history of gaming studios.
This concerned a relatively complex issue: A clause in the contracts of Riot employees essentially prohibits them from suing the company. Instead, employees must seek arbitration: This practice is called “Forced Arbitration.”
Two women have sued Riot Games – this led to the protests at the developer of League of Legends. The employees wanted to achieve with the “Walkout” that Riot Games abandons this clause.
This garnered some attention.
This is what the authority says now: The authority, The California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH), has now announced that it has launched an investigation against Riot Games since October 2018. It concerns suspected gender discrimination. They are investigating:
- Alleged unequal pay
- Sexual harassment
- Sexual assault
- Retaliation for complaints
- and discrimination in hiring and promotions
The authority says Riot refuses to release information that would allow them to analyze whether women really receive less than men.
Therefore, they are now taking legal action.
This is what Riot says: The developers behind LoL say they are in “active conversation.” They have released 2,500 pages of documents and are seeking contact. However, their own inquiries remain unanswered.
Thus, they are now disappointed that the authority has gone public. They believe that the company has made significant progress in corporate culture regarding diversity and inclusion.
