Over the past 10 years, Riot Games has exploded onto the scene to become one of the biggest and most well-known names in the gaming industry. The massive success of League of Legends put the California-based studio on the map and that success has translated into other projects like the card game spinoff Legends of Runeterra, tactical shooter Valorant, and the recent Netflix series based on the company's flagship game, Arcane. However, the studio's rapid growth has led to no shortage of controversy over its 15-year history, a past that the company is trying to move on from.
Riot Games has come under fire several times over the past few years with allegations of sexual harassment and discrimination in the workplace being levied against the League of Legends developers. Lawsuits had previously been filed against Riot Games' CEO Nicolo Laurent and testimonies from many female employees within Riot Games had described the company's workplace as creating a toxic environment for females. Now, Riot Games is reportedly looking to grow from its mistakes and move in a new direction, while offering an alternative for employees who choose not to remain with the company.
In a Riot blog post from the company's CEO, Riot Games outlined its roadmap for the company's next five years with its intentions being to completely reinvent and rethink the way Riot Games does its business moving forward. However, the company also offered an expansion of its "Queue Dodge" program, allowing employees who leave within three months to receive 25% of their base salary plus benefits, for employees who decide to leave following the shift. For a limited time, Riot Games will be expanding its Queue Dodge to any Rioter choosing to part ways with the company in the midst of its new direction.
Within the post, Laurent stressed that Riot Games was not looking to forget and move on from the company's troubled past, but rather to grow and become stronger through learning from its mistakes. Riot recently agreed to pay out a massive settlement of $100 million for the company's notorious gender discrimination lawsuit in 2018. As a part of the settlement, Riot also agreed to several shifts in workplace policy regarding transparency in pay scales and a third-party being brought on to monitor the developer.
The League of Legends studio has seen its entertainment offerings expand significantly over the past few years. Alongside the studio's first non-League of Legends games, Riot Games and Netflix released the studio's first fully animated series, Arcane, to roaring critical acclaim. The studio's Riot Forge initiative has also begun to produce results with the long-awaited Ruined King: A League of Legends Story releasing late last year. Riot Games will look to come out of a grim chapter of its history with a renewed commitment to its fanbase.