Published , by Chris Jarrard
Published , by Chris Jarrard
League of Legends is one of, if not the most popular games on the planet. The free to play MOBA launched nearly a decade ago and has grown into a phenomenon that proudly boasts hundreds of millions of players. League of Legends developer Riot Games employs over 2500 people across the globe and is one of the biggest esports sponsors and organizers in the world. While the game is a massive success and the company is ever growing, some current and former employees have gone on record saying that the work culture at Riot is rife with harassment and unfairly impedes its female employees from advancement within the company. In a new report posted on Kotaku, multiple employees describe Riot Games as a workplace rife with sexism.
“The ‘bro culture’ there is so real,” said a former female employee. “It’s agonizingly real. It’s like working at a giant fraternity.” The Kotaku report includes anecdotes from both male and female employees describing the exchange and display of unsolicited pictures of male genitalia and an alleged list of female staff of whom senior male leadership would like to sleep with.
The report goes on to describe other examples of the culture at Riot, along with the company’s attempts to change and improve its workplace policy towards discrimination and sexism. Some of the staffers interview by Kotaku claim that the company’s insistence on bringing in only “core gamers” leads to only one type of person being hired and advanced, to the detriment of the company and its posted policy.
Riot Games has since responded to the report with this statement:
“This article shines a light on areas where we haven’t lived up to our own values, which will not stand at Riot. We’ve taken action against many of the specific instances in the article, and we’re committed to digging in, addressing every issue, and fixing the underlying causes. All Rioters must be accountable for creating an environment where everyone has an equal opportunity to be heard, grow their role, advance in the organization, and fulfill their potential.
From the beginning we’ve had a zero tolerance policy on discrimination, harassment, retaliation, bullying, and toxicity. As we’ve grown, we’ve made progress, and we’ve continued to put resources behind our Diversity & Inclusion programs as part of constantly improving Riot. We recognize we still have work to do to achieve our goals, which starts with listening to feedback from Rioters and others, and providing Rioters with the guidance and resources they need to uphold our values. You can read more about our D&I work here.”