Riot Games Settles Gender Discrimination Lawsuit For $10 Million

League of Legends studio Riot Games has agreed to a proposed settlement of $10 million over a gender discrimination suit levied against the company. Several outlets are reporting that the fund will be collectively distributed to every woman who has been employed by the company at any time over the past five years.

The suit came in light of a massive Kotaku investigation into a culture of sexism at Riot Games, which included poor promotion practices and a culture that reportedly encouraged discrimination, as well as pay inequity between the men and women of Riot. The report resulted in an employee walkout and investigation from the state of California, eventually resulting in today's proposed settlement.

First reported in the LA Times and confirmed by Kotaku, the approximately 1000 women who have worked at Riot from November 2014 to the date the settlement is finalized will be entitled to a payment from the fund. The final dollar amount for each female employee will vary depending on the length of time they've worked for Riot Games and their employment status (either full-time or contractor).

In a statement to the LA Times, a Riot spokesperson says: "We're pleased to have a proposed settlement to fully resolve the class action lawsuit. 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."

Following Kotaku's 2018 report, Riot Games has made a number of efforts to fix ongoing issues, including the hiring of a chief diversity officer and steps taken to right the culture inside the League of Legends studio. Current employees have stated that the company has made "real progress."