Game Developer Riot Games has made the decision to offer any employee 25% of their annual salary to quit the company if they aren’t “convinced” by their new direction.
The company is offering any employee 25% of their annual salary as well as three months of subsidized health benefits and won’t have to forfeit upcoming bonuses and all in the name of “ growing the business” according to CEO Nicolo Laurent. He went on to say “We just want to make sure we have the right team of people who are highly motivated.”
In their new five-year strategy, Riot intends to make a number of changes, including restructuring, revising their compensation model, opening new studios, and developing new games and other media.
The company will also apparently be expecting employees to work in the office at least three times a week somewhere in the near future. Regarding this subject, Laurent said:” being in the office is “significantly better” for “creative work that requires a wide range of skills and collaboration.”
This also means that employees that have moved too far away from the offices will have to relocate or take the offer of 25% salary etc.
For Riot employees who wished to leave, a restricted version of the buyout scheme was already available. It’s called Queue Dodge, and it allows new workers who aren’t from Riot to walk away with 10% of their annual compensation, up to $25,000, if they don’t come from Riot.
Riot is temporarily boosting the compensation and making it available to all employees, recently hired or not.
Laurent and Riot’s goal is to assemble a staff that shares their vision, which he expresses in a statement:
“No one should feel any pressure to stay or leave Riot. Whatever their decision is, it’s the right one for them. If they’re excited about what’s next and want to stay in Riot, that’s great. If they have hesitations and this package makes it easy for them to leave, that’s great too.”
Laurent also mentioned in his blog post that Riot recently reached a $100 million settlement in a gender discrimination lawsuit that was filed in 2018. “We have come a long way in our workplace, processes, and leadership since then, and we will continue to do so every day,” he wrote.
Last year Riot diversity chief Angela Roseboro said that Riot has increased representation of women and underrepresented minorities” in 2020, but “could be more proactive” going forward.
Laurent seems to have taken note and made changes such as gathering a nine-member diversity and inclusion team that aim to “expand their efforts globally”.He has also invested in programs such as the Underrepresented Founders Fund, and is prioritizing action over “white text emoticons on a black background on Twitter.”
Laurent also wrote:
“We’re asking RIs to join a Riot where everyone feels supported. Where ideas get productive feedback, Rioters ask tough questions in ways that encourage healthy dialogue, where we all learn and grow from different perspectives, and focus on players relentlessly and relentlessly.”
This all sounds wonderful and could turn out to be a great environment for those employees who choose to stay and not take the package, but only time will tell if Riot will stick to these new proposed policies and changes.