Riot Games Gears Up To Return To The Office Without Vaccine Or Mask Requirements

For the past two years companies across the world have been transitioning to remote work, leaving a difficult decision hanging over everyone’s head on when to return to the office.

Riot Games recently made the decision and is asking employees at its Los Angeles headquarters to return to the office, without requiring masks or COVID-19 vaccines.

Recently, Riot Games Chief Security Officer Christopher Hymes sent a Slack message to employees who work out of the Los Angeles, California office, announcing that Riot was dropping office mask mandates to its existing COVID-19 policy and would no longer require testing for employees even if they have not provided proof of vaccination.

Riot Games continues to state how it is operating exactly as the local government in Los Angeles is expecting it to, and is even providing additional safety measures like hiring an outside janitorial team that provides COVID-19-specific cleaning protocols, a MERV rated air filtration system, and free N95 masks to those who want them. However, adding extra safety measures while eliminating the ones that seem to be the most imperative to keeping employees safe—such as mandated masks and continued COVID-19 test monitoring—seem to be a bit counterintuitive, and some employees are deciding to walk away from their jobs for that very reason.

“While we hate to lose valuable team members, we’ve always expected that some Rioters would choose to leave because they wanted to work remotely on a permanent basis,” a Riot spokesperson said.

While Riot Games has dropped masks, testing, and vaccination requirements, office workers will be required to carry around an RFID tag. While it seems like a good idea, this tag really only works if the employees are being vigilant in their self-reporting.

If you would like to read more on the precautions that Riot games is planning to take or more employee testimonies, head over to Vice’s site for the full article.