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Pokemon Go developer Niantic is being sued by a former employee alleging a “sexist work culture” where she was paid less than male colleagues, despite having a higher position and having been at the company for longer.
As reported by The Verge, the anonymous employee, referred to as Jane Doe, is seeking class-action status for the lawsuit. Class-action status would enable employees affected by Niantic’s alleged “boys club” mentality to be compensated for damages and lost pay stemming from being underpaid and passed over for promotions due to the company’s discriminatory workplace culture, according to the lawsuit.
The aforementioned Jane Doe worked at Niantic from 2020 until last week, when the company laid off more than 200 employees, including Doe. In 2021, she alleges she was making $81,000 a year, but learned that a male colleague who had been hired more recently and at a lower-ranking position was earning more than her. The male colleague continued to make more than Doe in 2022 and 2023 even after she was given raises. It was earlier this year that Doe noticed a job listing for her position that included a salary range, and realized she was being paid $10,000 less than the bottom of the range listed.
Attempts to bring up the issues to Niantic leadership allegedly left Doe “in fear of losing her job” after she was told that her job evaluations and lower pay were a result of having discussed sexism in the workplace with her co-workers.
A survey of women working at the company organized by Niantic’s women resources group, the Wolfpack, found that many of the women who worked at the developer believed it to be a sexist place to work. When the results of that survey were shared with Niantic leadership, Niantic’s chief marketing officer Mike Quigley allegedly told the group not to conduct surveys and to remove comments related to sexism from its presentation.
“Niantic’s treatment of its female employees, including Plaintiff, sent them the message that they were not valued at Niantic and would be held back in the workplace because they are women and/or women of color,” the lawyers for Doe state in the lawsuit. “Niantic’s treatment of its female employees who voiced concerns about discrimination in the workplace also sent them the message that Niantic did not tolerate any opposition to or concern about the way women were treated there.”
Niantic has not responded to GameSpot’s request for comment on the matter.
Niantic isn’t alone when it comes to game developers landing in legal trouble for alleged workplace discrimination. Activision Blizzard and Riot Games have also landed in legal hot water, with Riot recently agreeing to pay $100 million to settle a gender discrimination lawsuit. Activision Blizzard settled a gender discrimination a suit with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in 2021 to the tune of $18 million. A high-profile state of California lawsuit alleging a “frat boy culture” at Activision Blizzard is still ongoing.
Niantic is most best-known for Pokemon GO, but has been responsible for several other augmented-reality mobile games, including Pikmin Bloom. Alongside its layoffs, Niantic announced it would be sunsetting NBA All-World and stopping development on the upcoming Marvel: World of Heroes. It will instead focus on making upcoming games like Monster Hunter Now a success, while ensuring Pokemon GO continues as a “forever game.”
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