It is hard to discern how complicated a thing such as gender-discrimination, or any seemingly prejudicial difference, would still have a place in modern society; it seems obvious not to do it. However, time and time again, there are moments where we hear of mega-corporations that have been caught doing it over and over, doing it once more; and the same has to be said of game developers. A group we’re almost expected to view as either nerdy loners or hyper-liberals demanding representation of every kind in everything.

Well, it seems in one case, the discrimination is ending in a small part of the gaming world this week. Starting back in 2018, Kotaku senior reporter, Cecilia D’Anastasio wrote about the inherent sexism that was taking place in the offices of Riot Games, developer of the hugely popular League of Legends series. Then back in August, in a one year follow up since the original piece, Kotaku noted that the company had taken real strides towards addressing sexism, though the pay-gap still hung over them like the metaphorical blade.

A couple of weeks following that second article, Riot Games published a statement on the class-action lawsuit they were facing with employees. This alongside the very public walkout back in May by 150 employees of the company, is very little the company was known for getting right in this case. Back to the statement, it was announced that Riot Games, had come to a settlement agreement on the case of employees not getting their fair share of pay for the work they do. To put it very simply, the company was in a lose-lose situation, either way, it was better for them to pay and promise than to fight and lose.

Now it seems, after many cases of forced arbitration and lower pay than their co-workers, Riot Games is stepping forward to pay all the women that have worked for them in the last five years properly. The total agreement of the settlement is being reported as “at least $10 million” by the Los Angeles Times. Meanwhile, Kotaku is stating it as “one of the largest in California history for a gender discrimination suit[s].”

The ten million dollar pot will be paid out to every woman that has worked at the company since 2014. In a comment made to Kotaku, Ryan Saba, the lawyer for Riot Games during this case, said, “This shows that Riot is serious about changing the culture at the company,” and that “We are pleased that a proposed settlement to fully resolve the class action lawsuit against Riot was filed recently by plaintiffs counsel.” He then goes on to state, “The settlement is another important step forward, and demonstrates our commitment to living up to our values and to making Riot an inclusive environment for the Industry’s best talent.”

It is only a step forward for Riot Games; and should be followed by more when required, though it should be seen as an example moving forward. We hope that for all those involved, this can be a fresh start and a moment of learning.

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