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.

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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.