Riot Games is involved in yet another sexual harassment scandal; only this time, it seems that the company has lost its partnership with technology company Alienware over the incident. It seems that Alienware has finally had enough of these kinds of allegations, breaking up the branded partnership almost a year early.
Riot Games is responsible for the massive hit MOBA League of Legends, only recently releasing more titles and games after over a decade of updating League of Legends. Riot has released a smorgasbord of games over the past year, with titles such as; Valorant, Teamfight Tactics, League of Legends Wild Rift, and Legends of Runeterra. The developers have more titles in development, many of which fall under the League of Legends lore and universe, exploring more aspects of the magical world of Runeterra.
According to Dot Esports, the deal is coming to an end due to the public controversy surrounding Riot’s continued handling of multiple sexual harassment claims within the company, namely the CEO Nicolo Laurent himself. Sources close to Dot Esports told the publication that Alienware cited these concerns with the game developer’s public image following the claims of sexual harassment and other issues.
It seems that the final straw that broke the camel’s back was when the CEO, Laurent, was accused of sexual harassment and gender discrimination in a civil lawsuit by his former executive assistant Sharon O’Donnell back in February this year. O’Donnell was harassed on numerous occasions by her boss, Laurent, eventually being fired from her job for turning down his sexual advances. While a settlement of $10 million was eventually reached, the damage done to the company’s image was already cemented.
Reports of sexual misconduct and harassment within Riot Games first surfaced back in 2018, after a report from continued lawsuits popping up over the past few years showing how little the studio has done to address the internal issues.
Alienware has officially been pulled as a partner brand from the League of Legends esports broadcasts. While Riot has confirmed that Alienware is no longer a partner on the broadcasts, the developer has yet to reveal why this decision was made, staying silent on the matter.
Source: Dot Esports
