In response to threats of staff walkouts, League of Legends developer Riot Games has made 13 specific commitments to improving its much-maligned studio culture, all rolling out within the next 90 days. It has also promised to scrap its mandatory arbitration clause in new employee contracts.
Word of planned walkouts first began to spread earlier this week, via a report from Waypoint. The proposed action by employees was a direct response to the news that Riot’s attorney was attempting to prevent two of the five ongoing gender discrimination lawsuits currently filed against the studio from progressing, by insisting that those involved waived their rights to sue under the terms of their employment contracts – a move which would also impact any future attempted legal action against the company.
That news did not sit well with Riot staff, particularly given that many believe Riot’s executive team has failed, despite repeated promises, to tackle systematic sexism within the studio.
In response to the very public conversation around its business practices over the last week, Riot has now announced that it will “pivot [its] approach” to mandatory arbitration. “As soon as current litigation is resolved,” it wrote, “we will give all new Rioters the choice to opt-out of mandatory arbitration for individual sexual harassment and sexual assault claims.” As for existing staff, it (less decisively) writes that, once current legal action is over, it will, “commit to have a firm answer around expanding the scope and extending this opt-out to all Rioters.”