Gamasutra reports that the Entertainment Software Rating Board has emailed all major publishers, asking them to check all games launched since September 1, 2004 (a nice random date) for hidden content ala the Hot Coffee scene in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. Any extra material that can be unlocked through cheat codes or mods must be reported to the ESRB by January 9 of 2006. The board may then re-rate the title if the extra material does not conform to the game's original rating. The ESRB also warns that "punitive in addition to corrective actions may result" if publishers do not notify the board of any games that might contain hidden content and then have that content unlocked. And then there's this

Finally, the ESRB addresses third-party 'mod' content which could potentially change the game's suitability, but was not inserted by the game's developer, commenting: "ESRB remains concerned about third party modifications that undermine the accuracy of the original rating, and we are exploring ways to maintain the credibility of the rating system with consumers in light of modifications of this nature."