Sega's Crazy Taxi revival draws fire over generative AI use in game development

Crazy Taxi is back, but Sega's use of generative AI steals the spotlight

Serving tech enthusiasts for over 25 years. TechSpot means tech analysis and advice you can trust. First look: Sega's return to Crazy Taxi isn't just a nostalgia play anymore. With the first full trailer now out, the upcoming Crazy Taxi: World Tour is drawing just as much attention for how it's being made, especially Sega's use of generative AI in development. Revealed during an Xbox showcase, Crazy Taxi: World Tour is slated for release in 2027 on Nintendo Switch 2, PlayStation 5, Windows PC, and Xbox Series X. The footage shows a fast-paced drive through a bright, San Francisco-style city, with the original driver, Axel, back behind the wheel. But the reboot also seems to widen the formula, adding side activities that push it beyond the series' simple arcade setup. Alongside the usual rush of picking up and dropping off passengers against the clock, the trailer shows a fishing mini-game and odder challenges, like driving a rider while trying not to let pizzas slide out of an open-top car. The bigger conversation, however, came not from the trailer but from a note on the game's Steam page. Sega confirmed that generative AI tools were used during development and described them as support tools for the team rather than central to the game itself. "At SEGA Corporation, we utilize generative AI as a support tool for developers, aiming to provide better content to our users and enable developers to focus more on creative tasks," the company said. "We have used such generative AI support tools during development of Crazy Taxi: World Tour. No AI was used in reference to the performers in the game." That puts Sega in line with a growing number of studios experimenting with AI-assisted production, but the use of generative AI remains a fault line within the industry. Some developers and publishers are moving ahead with it, while others have publicly rejected it. Player response has often been sharply negative. Critics raise concerns about artistic integrity, the environmental cost of large-scale computing, and the fact that many models are trained on existing artists' work without consent. Sega's statement emphasizes that AI was not used in connection with in-game performers, but it leaves open questions about how extensively the technology shaped the final product. The reboot itself has been a long time coming. Sega first announced plans in 2023 to revive several legacy franchises, including Crazy Taxi, Jet Set Radio, Golden Axe, Shinobi, and Streets of Rage. Most of those series have already seen revisits in recent years. Not all of those efforts have moved forward smoothly, with at least one large-scale "super-game" initiative reportedly canceled internally. In that context, Crazy Taxi: World Tour hints at where Sega wants to go next. It pairs a well-known, nostalgia-driven property with newer development practices, including AI tools. How players will respond to that mix of old and new remains to be seen.

Crazy Taxi World Tour officially announced, and Sega immediately upsets everyone by announcing it used generative AI

It's been a rollercoaster day for Crazy Taxi. Today, at Xbox's showcase, we saw the first trailer for the long-teased rebooted game in the series. In a new trailer (below) Sega announced that the game is set to launch on Nintendo Switch 2, PlayStation 5, Windows PC, and Xbox Series X in 2027. There's a lot to like: the series' San Francisco-inspired map still looks intact, and everything looks as clean and sunny as ever. You play as the original driver, Alex, who takes to the streets alongside some rival drives trying to get the biggest fare. The trailer also showed a few side activities; a fishing mini-game caught my attention the most. I also like the idea of ferrying around someone trying not to spill pizzas out of your open top vehicle. But then came the controversy: over on the Steam page for the game, Sega has added a note confirming that it has been using generative AI in the development of the title. "At SEGA Corporation, we utilize generative AI as a support tool for developers, aiming to provide better content to our users and enable developers to focus more on creative tasks," reads the statement. "We have used such generative AI support tools during development of Crazy Taxi: World Tour. No AI was used in reference to the performers in the game." Sega isn't alone in the industry, of course: there are many studios beginning to embrace genAI (but just as many starting to reject it). There is a lot of player resistance to the tool, though, with consumers rejecting games that use genAI en masse due to its lack of artistry, the environmental implications of its use, and the fact that many genAI models are trained immorally on stolen work from existing artists. We've known about Crazy Taxi's reboot for a while, of course: at The Game Awards in 2023, Sega announced plans to reboot five of its classic franchises: Golden Axe, Shinobi, Streets of Rage and Jet Set Radio. Whilst most of these series have had a revisit in recent years, a 'super-game' announced at the same time recently got shut down internally at Sega.

The new Crazy Taxi has a generative AI disclosure on its Steam page, and people are not happy

It didn't take long, but it happened to me. Less than a week after PC Gamer's Andy Chalk wrote about how these gaming trailer livestreams would start to have their hype trains robbed and wrecked by AI disclosures, I saw it. Crazy Taxi: World Tour, a game I was reasonably excited for, was made with help from generative AI. "At Sega Corporation, we utilize generative AI as a support tool for developers, aiming to provide better content to our users and enable developers to focus more on creative tasks," the game's Steam page reads. "No AI was used in reference to the performers in the game." I assume that last bit is referring specifically to voice work. Game Informer's Brian Shea got an expanded statement from Sega which he posted on Bluesky. It includes the extra line, "Assets generated were still subject to review by the development team." It's still a bit vague, but suggests that it was used to create art and not only as a coding assistant. Fans on social media are not happy. "Using AI slop to make shit for you, more like Lazy Taxi," wrote mat-draws on Bluesky. It's quickly becoming the thing to say. "Lazy Taxi," concurred Bluesky user tehsnakerer. "Lazy Taxi," mused mluckas, also on Bluesky. On Reddit, user RORSCHACH_INC_ commented, "Know what... think I'll just walk home." It's perhaps especially galling given the faux-counterculture aesthetics Crazy Taxi has always wrapped itself in, blaring pop punk as you try not to crash into the nearest KFC. The AI use, combined with the fact that this is apparently an open world campaign-driven game that takes you across five different cities, suggests that a Crazy Taxi game in 2027 is a very different prospect to the 1999 arcade classic.

SEGA under fire for using gen AI in new Crazy Taxi game

SEGA Is reviving classic Dreamcast-era franchise Crazy Taxi with a brand new game set for a 2027 release, but the company is facing backlash over the project's use of generative AI. In an effort to revitalize sales and spark cultural interest, SEGA is reviving core legacy franchises as part of its so-called Next Level marketing campaign. A new Crazy Taxi is among these revamped titles and the new game was revealed at Summer Game Fest as Crazy Taxi World Tour, modernizing the retro gameplay for new platforms. The news was welcomed by fans--Crazy Taxi is back, complete with the signature rip-roaring chaotic driving, explosively bombastic colors, and of course, Offspring belting out punk guitar riffs on the soundtrack. There's just one fly in the ointment: the new Crazy Taxi's Steam page confirms that SEGA used generative AI to make the game. SEGA's disclosure reads like this: "We have used such generative AI support tools during development of Crazy Taxi: World Tour. No AI was used in reference to the performers in the game." The company has issued a statement to Game Informerhttps://gameinformer.com/sgf-2026/2026/06/08/crazy-taxi-world-tour-producer-clarifies-ai-use to explain the situation. Lead producer Kenji Kanno says: "First, I think I can be a little bit more specific or clear on how we use the generative AI. So, it's like one small part of the creative process. So, to get a little bit more detailed about our design process, as mentioned earlier, it's World Tour, and we have five different countries. I can't say which countries there are today, but our artists, our designers, they actually went to the actual locations, and they took references, and based on that, they came up with the designs. "And generally, AI is just one part of that, and is used as a hint or part of the ideation. "I think the statement on the Steam page was quite vague, so to make things a bit more clear - and this is a sentiment that both me and our team of talented artist and designers back in Japan share - is that we want to create things ourselves and deliver that as a great experience for our customers. So rest assured, everything in the final product is going to be original." Fans aren't too happy about this and it's caused controversy among some core players, yet the general consensus around the project seems to be excitement and curiosity. Crazy Taxi World Tour is coming to PS5, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch 2, and PC sometime in 2027.

Crazy Taxi: World Tour Responds To AI Criticism

After more than two decades, Sega finally showed off a new mainline Crazy Taxi game at the Xbox summer showcase in Crazy Taxi: World Tour. At first, the internet rejoiced in a chorus of longtime fans singing "yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah" together once more. Then, shortly after, it was revealed that Sega had used generative AI in the game's development, and the tune changed. This first came to light due to a disclosure on the game's Steam page, which reads as follows: At SEGA Corporation, we utilize generative AI as a support tool for developers, aiming to provide better content to our users and enable developers to focus more on creative tasks. We have used such generative AI support tools during development of Crazy Taxi: World Tour. No AI was used in reference to the performers in the game. In a statement to Game Informer, Sega expanded a little bit more by saying the tech was used in "the development of background assets," and also said that anything AI-generated was "still subject to review by the development team." At Summer Game Fest's Play Days event, Kotaku attended a presentation alongside other members of the press to see more of World Tour hosted by original series creator Kenji Kanno. Here we saw a few of World Tour's wacky side missions and mini-games, as well as more of the game's general driving mayhem. When the topic of World Tour's generative AI use came up, Kanno explained a little bit more about how the team used the technology. "We used it as a reference," Kanno explained via translator. "So our artists would pull up [and] generate some of their ideas and then they would look at that, you know, generated image and then they would draw the actual thing. So actual creators, everything from programming to assets, everything is made by an actual human. It's only used as a reference for them to look at and then they would actually create the actual thing that would go into the game." Following up on that, I asked Kanno how the World Tour team weighs the perceived benefits of generative AI against any potential backlash from the public, and while he acknowledged the technology would continue to be controversial, he reiterated that World Tour would only be using generative AI-produced assets as reference, rather than for anything that shows up in-game. "For us, the extent of how we use generative AI is only what I mentioned earlier," Kanno said. "[It's] just for ideas and just as a reference. Moving forward in the future [generative AI] is probably going to be more of a hot topic, but I think that's all I can say right now on how we use generative AI for this game." Despite public pushback, several big game development companies are using GenAI in game development. The surging practice has been met with widespread criticism as the tech must be trained on existing work by human artists, thus making any assets made with it essentially plagiarized without credit or compensation of the original creators. That's not even factoring in that the tech, while often producing shoddy work no one with a modicum of taste would pay money for, is often being positioned as a threat to creative jobs by corporate suits looking to reduce human labor costs across several industries, including film, books, and video games. In recent months, some awards bodies have ruled that works made with GenAI will be disqualified from consideration. Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 lost a Game of the Tear award at the Indie Game Awards last year after developer Sandfall Interactive was accused of lying on its awards submission after using AI placeholder assets that shipped in the final game. Since then, Sandfall has said everything in its games will be created by humans moving forward.

Sega stuffed generative AI into Crazy Taxi: World Tour, slamming the brakes on all the excitement after a 3-year wait

The Xbox Game Showcase's best announcement was undoubtedly the actual announcement of Crazy Taxi: World Tour after it was teased three years ago. So, of course Sega has immediately killed all of that goodwill by confirming it used generative AI for it. During the showcase, a trailer kicked off with someone stacking cans before the dulcet tones of The Offspring's Dexter Holland shouting "YEAH YEAH YEAH YEAH YEAH," and everyone whose knees currently hurt was immediately struck with excitement. While Sega did announce that Crazy Taxi was coming back during The Game Awards 2023 (alongside Jet Set Radio, Golden Axe, and a ton of other franchises Sega hasn't touched in years), this is our first look at the game now dubbed Crazy Taxi: World Tour. We got some gameplay of the new game interspersed with CGI footage, with it teasing new types of Crazy Taxi-ing as your passengers are fishing for sharks, holding a tower of pizza, or playing air guitar. The trailer takes place throughout what seems to be a recreation of the original arcade game's map, however, a character invited Axel to new countries, implying there's going to be many more as part of the World Tour. The Steam page explains the plot: "Embark on a globetrotting adventure to recover Axel's stolen car from a mysterious group of international car thieves in a compelling story-driven campaign." However, for those elderly people among us (anyone over 30), Sega promises a classic Arcade-style mode too "featuring a pulse-pounding race against the clock to earn the most cash possible". Exciting, right? Well, unfortunately Sega has immediately put a big damp cloth on the hype, as that same Steam page unfortunately includes the dreaded "AI Generated Content Disclosure." The disclosure reads, "At SEGA Corporation, we utilize generative AI as a support tool for developers, aiming to provide better content to our users and enable developers to focus more on creative tasks. We have used such generative AI support tools during development of Crazy Taxi: World Tour. No AI was used in reference to the performers in the game." The description is a little vague, however from the line about enabling "developers to focus more on creative tasks" Sega is presumably using the tech for behind-the-scenes tasks rather than flooding the game with AI slop artwork. There being a disclosure, however, has many thinking it's more than simply using AI support tools for coding - but the vagueness now allows people to assume the worst. And now, sadly one of the most exciting announcements of the showcase has been spoiled for many. Of course, generative AI has become more commonplace in games as of late, with publishers like Ubisoft and Krafton openly talking about using the tech. However, players seem to be outright rejecting it, as the outcry over Baldur's Gate 3 developer Larian using it for Divinity caused the studio to u-turn on the using it in concept art. Speaking of Sega and disappointment, Atlus announced Persona 6 and proceeded to show us absolutely nothing.

Why Do You Need Generative AI To Make Crazy Taxi? - Kotaku

I was really stoked for a new Crazy Taxi game. Sega's been teasing it for a while now, so I knew it was coming, but the reveal today was still exciting. I love the silly energy of Crazy Taxi, the ridiculous yet fun overuse of The Offspring, and crashing into stuff for no reason. But I guess I'm not playing Crazy Taxi: World Tour now, because for some reason Sega used generative AI to make it. This is according to a disclosure on the Steam page for World Tour, which just went live today: At SEGA Corporation, we utilize generative AI as a support tool for developers, aiming to provide better content to our users and enable developers to focus more on creative tasks. We have used such generative AI support tools during development of Crazy Taxi: World Tour. No AI was used in reference to the performers in the game. I...what do you need generative AI for, man? It's Crazy Taxi?! You literally made one of these in the late 90s with zero generative AI, and it was great? We have better technology now that's not generative AI that you can use! What are you even generating? Buildings? Soda cans? Signs? Guys? None of that requires generative AI! You can just...hire someone to make those things! A number of other major studios have admittedly to using generative AI recently, but this feels different. Most of the examples we've seen have been companies using generative AI in concepting and then frantically apologizing when some AI art made it into the final product, or try to sneak it in without people noticing (Call of Duty) or else they used it for localization, or (in the case of The Finals) to avoid paying actors to voice hundreds of lines. Not to say any of those uses should be downplayed, but this is one of the first times we've seen a big AAA game dev just wholesale admit it's using generative AI to make in-game assets without apology. Nevermind that it kills creativity and wrecks the environment. We gotta make taxis faster, I guess. Or whatever: the disclosure is so vague that one could assume anything from a single asset using AI, to most of the game. I guess at least we know The Offspring didn't use AI, based on the mention of the performers. Whelp, so long then, Crazy Taxi. Hate to watch you drive off into the sunset, I just prefer my games to be made by human beings, thanks.