Despite four years of public uproar over the ‘hot coffee’ feature in a Grand Theft Auto game, a federal judge has ruled against a decision to punish the game’s developers. United States District Judge Shirley Wohl Kram ruled that the purchasers of the 2004 videogame Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas could not be put together in a single class-action case against Rockstar Games and Take-Two Interactive Software.

Judge Kram ruled that it would be impossible to bring the case to a single courtroom because each individual’s claim would have to be subject to its own state laws. The New York Times reported that approximately 3,000 people filed law suits against the game makers and none of them will see a single cent. Judge Kram’s ruling also ended a mass settlement between the developers and lawyers of the purchasers, who were looking for compensation after being exposed to the offensive material.

The ‘hot coffee” feature gave gamers access to hidden sex scenes in the game. Gamers needed third-party programs and knowledge of videogame mods in order to uncover the hidden content. Xbiz.com reported many lawmakers and parents accused the game makers of “defrauding consumers by failing to disclose the existence of the sex scene.”