Riot Games co-founders, Brandon Beck and Marc Merrill. Photo: Vivien Killelea/Getty Images
Remember the horrifically toxic environment at Riot Games? As a refresher, there were rape jokes, women passed over for promotions, men stealing women’s ideas, the company hired sexy female cosplayers to “cheer up” employees, women are judged more harshly than men, Riot wouldn’t hire women, they used arbitrary reasons to keep women out of meetings, gatherings, and male employees talked about which women in the office they wanted to have sex with on the office floor. In fact, one woman was up for her promotion, but found it disappeared after she told a horny manager “no” at an office party. Others reported homophobic and racist slurs on a regular basis. The N-word was shouted on one employee’s first day.
Riot Games is an incredibly toxic place. This was a small sampling of that toxicity.
Riot said they wanted to change. Then they didn’t change anything. They added a few new policies, but, overall, they didn’t make mass layoffs like they claimed they would. Instead, the same people who made Riot Games toxic are still in charge, and little has changed or improved. For example, one higher up who would fart on employees and “ball tap” them (slap the person’s testicles) is still at the company. He was perhaps one of the worst offenders, and even he was immune to Riot Games’ “changes.” Riot has even fired those who have stood up for women at the company.
This, obviously, has lead to lawsuits. Riot Games has fought these lawsuits, and claims that, because employees are required to sign an arbitration agreement when they are hired, the cases can’t go to court. Riot Games is taking the tactic that even Google has banned: forced arbitration.
The Lawsuits
Illustration by Chelsea Beck
Five current and past employees have sued Riot Games for gender discrimination. Unfortunately, the cases cannot move forward due to forced arbitration agreements in their employment contracts. Finding a job is difficult enough. When most people find a place they want to work, they’re not thinking about what they’ll have to do if they’re harassed or assaulted at work. They’re thinking about the safety of a new career.
According to employees at Riot Games, most of the employees there are sympathetic to the discrimination cases moving forward. A few men believe the other men and women are being “overly sensitive,” but they are—by far—the minority.
It’s always strange to me when people who are not victims of a crime or mistreatment tell actual victims they’re overreacting. What’s their frame of reference? They’ve never had to struggle against a patriarchal system or sexual harassment. How do they decide what the correct level of reaction is?
Speaking to victims of harassment and assault, the correct level of reaction is whatever you feel is right, within the confines of the law, of course. Is getting someone fired for harassment valid? Yes. Is “ruining” your abuser’s life a good path? Yes. Is getting the sexist ass who won’t promote you fired because you’re not what he thinks of when he thinks of a gamer? Absolutely.
Yet none of that is happening. Nothing is happening. The guy who runs around farting on people and slapping people’s testicles is still the company’s COO. Imagine that. What would happen to you if you farted on a coworker and slapped his testicles? You’d be fired.
Riot won’t fire anyone, Riot won’t change, and Riot’s blocking lawsuits with forced arbitration agreements. So employees have taken a different path.
The Protest
Riot employees during the walkout. Photo: Nathan Grayson/Kotaku
Riot employees walked out of their offices this week. Apparently, 150 employees left around mid day. They found the support of Game Workers Unite, an organization looking to improve the often terrible working conditions for game developers. Though one of the first, this won’t be the last walkout at a game developer’s office.
According to organizers, fears of retaliation for the protest are high, which explains why a company with at least 1,000 employees only had 150 walk out. It also shows how pervasive the culture of toxicity is at Riot. Riot assured employees that they wouldn’t face retaliation, but it also had policies against sexual harassment and assault, yet did nothing to enforce them. Riot employees don’t trust Riot.
The upset Riot Games employees named their group “Rioters Unplugged.” Photo: Nathan Grayson/Kotaku
The organizers say that they have other protests planned, and are giving Riot Games until May 16th to take action. Organizers want to see an end to forced arbitration and better dedication towards making Riot Games a less toxic place. So far, Riot Games has been silent, stating only that they support their employee’s right to speak up.
What’s Next
Photo: Kotaku
Honestly, I don’t know why this is so difficult for the Riot Games, Googles, and Facebooks of the world. Stop. Being. Assholes. If you have an employee who assaults his coworkers with “ball taps” and by farting on them, fire him. If a man refuses to work with women, fire him. If he sexually harasses a woman, fire him. If he does this and he’s the COO, fire him. This isn’t rocket science. No matter how important they may seem, they will do lasting damage to a company that will be felt years down the road, if the company even survives. They will hurt your bottom line. No toxic employee is worth the damage they do in the long run. Period.
If Riot Games wants to change, they need to fire their toxic employees, end forced arbitration, and settle their gender discrimination lawsuits. Then they can move forward with the public’s trust. Riot Games has one game, making it easy to boycott. League of Legends already has an incredibly toxic culture and is considered extremely unfriendly towards new players. One game that can’t bring in new blood and is facing a boycott?
Riot Games had better shape up, or they’re going to lose everything.