Scandalous Games

Scandalous Games is a video game history podcast that takes a closer look at video game related controversies. Every episode, historian Kevin Impellizeri shares a story about a scandalous event from gaming's past to his friends who offer commentary on moral panics, ill-advised advertising campaigns, unusual figures, and any and all topics related to video game scandals and how they shaped the medium. New episodes drop on the first and third Tuesdays of every month! Check out more info, including show notes and sources, at http://scandalousgamespodcast.wordpress.com.

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Scandalous Games

Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas "Hot Coffee" Mod Remastered, Part 2: Rockstar's multi-million dollar mistake

December 16, 2025 • Scandalous Games • Episode 75

Historian Kevin Impellizeri shares a story of a video game controversy to his friends: Elford Stephens, Phil Thomas, and Ryan Weaver. In our thrilling conclusion to our remastered version of our 2022 episode on the Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas "Hot Coffee" mod, we examine the fallout and the lasting legacy behind arguably the most infamous mod in the history of video games.

Topics discussed include: the grandma who saved her grandchild from the M-rated game she bought, Take-Two runs afoul of the city of Flint, MI, the slapdash remastered editions of the Grand Theft Auto trilogy, and how many bad Arnold Schwarzenegger impressions can we cram into a single episode?

For more on Hot Coffee and Rockstar, check out:

David Kushner, Jacked: The Unauthorised Behind-the-Scenes Story of Grand Theft Auto (London: Collins, 2012).
Simon Parkin, "Who Spilled Hot Coffee?" Eurogamer, December 2, 2012: https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2012-11-30-who-spilled-hot-coffee.

More info, including show notes and sources at http://scandalousgamespodcast.wordpress.com.