In the wake of Riot Games recent internal turmoil, such as gender discrimination lawsuits, employees quitting due to a toxic work environment, and even the COO being suspended for workplace misconduct, the company has changed its core values. Riot realized they needed to make some major changes in order to create and maintain a safe and pleasant work environment for their employees while still delivering on the fantastic games they have become known for over the years. Riot, in order to meet those goals, have updated their core values to better reflect how they would like the company to function (and behave) moving forward.

According to the Riot Games website, their new values focus on five main points: Player Experience First, Dare to Dream, Thrive Together, Execute with Excellence, and Stay Hungry; Stay Humble. Obviously, the first core value is similar to that of many companies, the customer comes first, which is unsurprising as they need to make games consumers like in order to keep the company chugging along. The second value focuses on pushing the envelope with the games that they make, “we make bold, focused bets aimed at advancing the gaming landscape,” reads the Dare to Dream value description.

The third value, Thrive Together, begins to target the issues that the company experienced this past year. The value stresses the importance of treating everyone with respect, in order to succeed together as a team. While the company has been accused of propagating “bro culture,” the new value aims to eradicate said culture and introduce a more inclusive one.

The next value, Execute with Excellence, is close to the first two values. It highlights the importance of continuously improving the company in order to produce the very best content for their players. Finally, the last value, Stay Hungry; Stay Humble focuses on doing good work, meeting ambitious goals, but not letting the successes go to their heads so to speak. “We celebrate our wins, learn from our failures, and challenge ourselves to evolve.”

The website goes on to include a few ways in which Riot will implement the values with three bullet points. “We will continually invest in cultivating an environment where each and every Rioter is able to thrive and reach their peak performance,” “we will strive for fair and equitable processes that Rioters can rely on,” and “our leaders will live the values and actively promote them within their teams.” The changes made to the company were probably a long time coming. While it may feel like a reaction to the bad press more than anything, it is good to see the company taking the time to examine their flaws and work to improve for the betterment of both their employees and their fanbase.