The group fronted by Gwen Stefani, 42, was happy to hear that their complaint against Activision for allegedly exceeding group members' contractual likenesses in Band Hero is going to court.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Ramona See denied the Santa Monica, California-based company's petition to throw out the case which means the sides should appear in front of jury later this year.

No Doubt sued the game maker in 2009, accusing them of allowing players to manipulate the quartet's individual avatars in ways they would never have acted in real life.

They claimed it violated their publicity rights and turned them into a "virtual karaoke circus act".

The original complaint stated that such manipulations include "unlocking" mechanisms that gave gamers the ability to have Gwen's computer generated image sing in a male voice and also allowed her male bandmates to sing in female voices.

The artists' attorney told E! News: "Now that the judge removed the last procedural hurdle Activision erected, No Doubt looks forward to a Los Angeles jury hearing how Activision treated the band.

An Activision representative said the ruling wasn't entirely unexpected noting that "it simply means that there are disputed facts and we look forward to trying the case in the courtroom".