The legal battle that began in 2018 between Riot Games —the studio— and the women of Riot Games came to a conclusion. The US-based video game company is set to pay a total of $100 million after losing the discrimination lawsuit.
Related: Riot Games appoints Marc Merrill as President of Games
The two sides actually arrived at a settlement that would have the company pay $10 million, but the workers’ side said the discrimination issues continued at the company and they decided to follow through with the whole process. The studio actually consented to be supervised by a third party for the upcoming years to be transparent and fix the issue, but several reports suggest the problem persisted.
The Tencent-owned studio will now have to pay more than just $10 million, in fact, the court fees alone cost $20 million. The rest of the $80 million will go to women affected and who worked for the company between November 2014 and December 2021. This means more than 2,000 women are entitled to compensation.
One of the plaintiffs, Jes Negrón shared the following message:
“I am so glad we achieved this first step toward justice for the women of Riot Games. I hope this case serves as an example for other studios and an inspiration for women in the industry at large. Women in gaming do not have to suffer inequity and harassment in silence – change is possible.
Genie Harrison, the lawyer who represented the women of Riot Games also shared her thoughts:
“This is a great day for the women of Riot Games – and for women at all video game and tech companies – who deserve a workplace that is free of harassment and discrimination.”
The women of Riot Games were one of the first people to speak loudly about the major issues people in the video games industry are facing, and their actions were followed by their colleagues at several studios, the most standout example was the Activision Blizzard workers’ protest.
Riot Games is also expected to make drastic changes in its hiring and selection process following the lawsuit.
