Senators Clinton, Lieberman, and Bayh introduced legislation in 2005 that called for a federal mandate of the ESRB’s rating system. The lawsuit alleged the corporations were guilty of deception, false advertising, and fraud. Many people demanded that the game be given the highest possible rating, which resulted in an unexpected turn of events when an 85-year-old woman launched a class-action lawsuit against Rockstar and the game’s producer. Government authorities eventually became engaged.

The Involvement Of Government and The Actions That Followed. Part of the problem stemmed from Rockstar’s initial claim that the files were not locked and were originally removed from the game, despite evidence to the contrary. In addition to worries about violence, the “Hot Coffee” mod added sexual content to the mix, prompting further criticism of Rockstar and the ESRB.