Yesterday, Riot Games’ Nicolo Laurent released a length letter to workers and gamers, essentially outlining what the next five years of Riot will look like. He centers gamers rather than games in his plan, saying the “mission is to be the most player-focused game company in the world,” homing in on fandoms, global hiring, and the “watch experience.” It’ll include a restructure of the internal working groups within the company, a commitment to hybrid working situations, new studios, improved compensation for workers, and easier exits for employees who want to leave.
“Last but not least, our shareholder (Tencent) agrees with our long term strategy and is giving back partial ownership of the company to Riot employees. Going forward Rioters will have the opportunity to own a portion of the company, along with Tencent, and thus directly participate in the risks and rewards of ownership.”
Laurent also talks up the company’s diversity and inclusion measures, saying it’s “important that [Riot] also take responsibility for [its] past.” Laurent, of course, has been accused personally of sexually harassing subordinates, just one prong of a long-running wide-ranging scandal within the company that resulted in a discrimination lawsuit that Riot Games recently settled for $100M with workers. A “special committee” made of up Riot’s Board of Directors and attorneys cleared Laurent himself of wrongdoing, saying there was no evidence and that no action would be taken against him, but he’s still being sued by his former executive assistant, who alleges he fired her after she rebuffed his explicitly detailed sexual advances.
All of this is set against the backdrop of the games themselves. This week, Valorant has released its 4.0 update and its new hero, Neon, as Legends of Runeterra preps merges for its Asian players.
