Court Greenlights Riot Games’ $100M Settlement

Photo by Giorgio Trovato on Unsplash

Riot Games has been given final approval by the California courts to move forward with a $100M USD settlement related to a gender discrimination class action lawsuit that was put on hold at the end of 2021. That agreement between Riot and the Department of Fair Employment and Housing alloted $80M to be paid out to current and former employees and contracted workers affected by the claims in the class action, with the rest going towards legal fees and other expenses related to the lawsuit.

The lawsuit was filed in 2018 by former Riot employees Melanie McCracken and Jess Negrón, but systematic gender discrimination at the League of Legends and Valorant makers was first detailed at length in this Kotaku report.

Previous reporting on the settlement suggested that 1,500 current and former Riot workers would receive payments, but in Tuesday’s announcement made by the California Department of Civil Rights, it noted that 1,600 current and former employees would be paid out, according to the Sacramento Bee.

As per the agreement, Riot must spend approximately $18M (not part of that $100M) over the next three years to fund diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs, and fill around 40 full-time positions “with class members who worked as temporary contractors in a competitive process,” notes the Sacramento Bee. Riot must also pay a third-party DEI expert over the next three years to monitor and analyze its progress in building a workforce that is diverse and fair.