The developer of League of Legends is paying new staff to quit

League of Legends developer Riot Games is offering new employees a cash incentive to leave if they don't fit in with the team.

You might be expecting to hear that the developer needs to reduce costs by laying off a few staff, but in fact the scheme, called Queue Dodge, is entirely voluntary.

"We don’t want to actively push people out or dare them to leave, but we do want to provide a well-lit, safe exit path," a post on the Riot Games website explains.

Queue Dodge offers North American employees 10% of their annual salary up to $25,000 if they choose to leave within their first 60 days. This cash incentive, which provides a cushion while searching for a new job (or a very pleasant bonus if you've already found one), is expected to have a couple of knock-on effects.

First, Riot hopes to reinforce its culture by making sure the people who stay really want to - not that they're financially dependent on the position and sticking it out despite disliking it.

"If someone gags on the unique flavour of our culture, they’d be doing themselves and the company a disservice to hang on just for the paycheck," Riot said.

"Culturally aligned people and teams are more effective, and alignment around mission and values allows us to better serve players. We’ve designed Queue Dodge to help self-identified mismatches move on in an open, positive, and constructive way."

Secondly, Riot expects the scheme to "backstop" its hiring process on those occasions it might make a mistake by selecting someone who isn't happy or accepted in the role.

Riot credits Zappos for inspiring the scheme with its 2009 offer of $200 to employees who wanted to quit.

Riot is an interesting company in a lot ways; its free-to-play MOBA model has changed the industry forever, and its continuing efforts to make gamer culture more positive are inspiring. It has offices in both Americas, Europe, Asia and Australia, if you're interested in throwing your CV in the ring.

Thanks, Polygon.