Internal Slack Messages Reveal Riot’s Messaging About Saudi Arabian Tournament`

Despite a threat of strike action for a Neom sponsorship in 2020 the messaging around participation in the Esports World Cup in Riyadh has changed drastically

On January 2^nd veteran esports reporter Jacob Wolf published a story that revealed Riot Games, the creator of titles such as League of Legends and Valorant, would be participating in the newly created Saudi Arabian World Cup in Riyadh. The move represented an unprecedented break from tradition around their international tournament circuit and working with third party operators to create events on their calendar. While they are not alone in getting in to bed with the Saudi Arabian state to fund their esports output the move has been met with some criticism from the community.

The key issue is a classic clash of words versus deeds. Riot Games has been a vocal supporter of LGBT causes down the years and has partnered with a number of charities and initiatives to this effect.

Saudi Arabia, being a theocracy that operates in line with Sharia law, criminalises same-sex sexual activity. While these laws are not codified it is generally agreed upon that the maximum penalty would include the death penalty. Trans people could also fall afoul of laws surrounding dress codes. Even with this being true as Saudi Arabia invests into more into entertainment, sport and technology sectors many have since taken to their platforms to suggest that Saudi Arabia is becoming more progressive. It is worth noting then that In 2022 alone Commerce Ministry officials in Riyadh undertook a mass seizure of rainbow coloured toys and children’s clothing and only released a gay influencer from prison for posting a photo of himself in swimwear after global condemnation.

Internal Riot Slack messages sent to this publication by concerned staffers showed that there were also apologists for the Saudi regime even within the very group designed to represent LGBT individuals at the company. The Rainbow Rioters are one of many diversity groups set up within Riot Games many of which were created in the aftermath of a devastating expose published by Cecilia D’Anastasio then at Kotaku. As you would expect from the name the goal of the Rainbow Rioters is to “foster LGBTQIA+ communities and products at Riot and beyond” which has led to some internal discussion around how appropriate it is to do business with a government that specifically criminalises homosexuality.

In the Slack conversation someone in a leadership role at the Rainbow Rioter group, whose name we have redacted, chimed in to discuss the “complexities when thinking about localization” before concluding that it was actually a net good to present watered down or modified versions of their LGBTQ content in regions with laws against gay and trans individuals. They insisted this is “how we make a difference.”

Another message echoed these sentiments adding that they were aware some individuals would not feel safe to travel to “certain countries” but that a positive impact could be achieved if they “worked around” the messaging and be honest “as much as we can.”

For those who find this surprising you should cast your mind back to what happened in July 2020 when Riot announced that the Saudi Arabian megaproject Neom, a modern megacity built on land stolen from the nomadic Howeitat tribe, was to be a major sponsor of their LEC league. Despite deliberately delaying the announcement so it wouldn’t coincide with Berlin Pride Week, many of the League of Legends broadcast team and crew were vocally against the deal and a potential strike was proposed.

Within a few days the staff protests and public backlash led to Riot Games terminating the deal. According to a report in the Wall Street Journal Saudi Arabia was so incensed at the collapse of the deal that the Neom Chief Executive Nadhimi al-Nasr called an emergency meeting where he threatened to pull a gun from under his desk and shoot individuals reporting to him.

Publicly Riot Games deemed the business deal to be such a transgression they issued a public apology via Twitter saying they knew “their actions hurt and alienated our community, particularly LGBTQIA+ individuals and our players in the Middle East.”

Reporting later emerged that internally Riot executives actually believed the only thing wrong with the deal had been the timing. One anonymous source said “The management who made that decision are completely safe in their jobs. In fact when the strike was being discussed the North American headquarters got involved on their side. They may have reversed the deal but the people who negotiated it in the first place have been reassured they did nothing wrong except maybe the communication process.”

The internal messages show how much has changed since then with the people with the most to lose from esports being dominated by Saudi Arabian influence actively speaking out in support of the move. It is an especially strange about turn when you consider that on Riot’s official website, in a profile with a member of the Rainbow Rioters from June 2022, the Neom deal is specifically referenced adjacent to the phrase “we know we are coming from a difficult place and we’ve had some bad experiences, but we’re really working hard to address it.” That place just got a whole lot more difficult.