Over the weekend, we once again covered the continuing fiasco that is League of Legends’ Riot Games, when as Kotaku first reported, two of the Riot employees who had a filed class-action lawsuit against the studio were being thwarted by the studio, which was seeking to force them into arbitration instead. The lawsuits alleged violations of the California equal pay act and gender discrimination; other suits related to last summer’s sexism scandals are apparently going forward.
But apparently, Riot’s recent moves, coupled with the perception that the studio isn’t moving fast enough on promised internal culture changes, aren’t going over well with its employees, as Waypoint is now reporting that a “core” group of Riot workers have been organizing a walkout. That’s since been confirmed by anonymous workers as well as an internal memo from Riot’s chief diversity officer Angela Roseboro, which was leaked to the publication.
“I know yesterday’s article about Riot’s motion to compel arbitration feels like we’re not moving forward. And I have to say for me, it demonstrates we still have work to do. There are pros, cons, and nuances to the discussion of arbitration, especially given the active litigation against Riot. It can be complex so these types of topics are best discussed live where it’s easier to have a conversation. I encourage all of you to ask as many questions in this Thursday’s Unplugged, and our promise to you is we will be as transparent as we possibly can. We’re also aware there may be an upcoming walkout and recognize some Rioters are not feeling heard. We want to open up a dialogue on Monday and invite Rioters to join us for small group sessions where we can talk through your concerns, and provide as much context as we can about where we’ve landed and why. If you’re interested, please take a moment to add your name to this spreadsheet. We’re planning to keep these sessions smaller so we can have a more candid dialogue.”
Riot CEO Nicolo Laurent has also noted the walkout in his press statement, affirming that he’s “sitting down today with Rioters” and during the weekly town hall.
Waypoint has learned that employees at Riot Games have prepared to walk out in protest of company policies recently reported by Kotaku. Riot, having learned about that plan, has responded internally and promises changes: https://t.co/NjrqvtXuCy
— austin walker (@austin_walker) April 29, 2019
