Riot Games, best known for League Of Legends and Valorant, has announced that they will pay out a total of US$100 million after reaching a global settlement agreement with the California Department Of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH), California Division Of Labor Standards Enforcement (DLSE), and several private Plaintiffs to resolve its gender discrimination lawsuit from 2018.

The total sum includes a US$80 million settlement and US$20 million in fees and expenses. According to the agreement, Riot will pay US$80 million to all current and former full-time employees and temporary agency contractors in California who identify as women and worked at the company from November 2014 to the present day.

That’s not all, as Riot Games has also agreed to have its internal reporting and pay equity processes to be monitored and examined by a third-party company that is approved by both Riot and the DFEH for a period of three years. However, all of this is still pending final approval from the court and will be taking place in the following months.

This settlement is for a gender discrimination lawsuit that was originally filed in 2018 following a report from Kotaku that exposed the problems and issues at Riot Games.

Speaking with The Washington Post, a Riot Games spokesperson said:

Final approval of this settlement by the court is currently pending, and a hearing is expected to take place within “the coming months.”

“Three years ago, Riot was at the heart of what became a reckoning in our industry. We had to face the fact that despite our best intentions, we hadn’t always lived up to our values. As a company we stood at a crossroads; we could deny the shortcomings of our culture, or we could apologize, correct course, and build a better Riot.

We chose the latter. … While we’re proud of how far we’ve come since 2018, we must also take responsibility for the past. We hope that this settlement properly acknowledges those who had negative experiences at Riot.”

In this case, Riot Games is represented by Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP, while the plaintiffs in the class are represented by Genie Harrison Law APC and JML Law APLC.

The plaintiffs’ counsel, the employment and sexual harassment lawyer Genie Harrison, said:

“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.

We appreciate Riot’s introspection and work since 2018 toward becoming a more diverse and inclusive company, its willingness to take responsibility for its past, and its commitment to continued fairness and equality in the future.”

There remains a lot of scrutiny in the games industry, with ongoing problems at other companies like Activision Blizzard and Quantic Dream. Let’s hope that things continue to improve for all those working in the games industry, as we move into 2022 and beyond.