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

[Skye Jacobs]

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.

Permalink to story:

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

 

[Squid Surprise]

Eventually everyone will use AI for anything computer-related, and this will be a non-issue…

In the meantime, there will always be those resistant to any change… companies know this so say “we only use it for x, y and z”…

Imagine a power company saying, “we only use electricity to light your home - your television and computers are powered by a hamster running on a wheel”…

About as true as the website that gets hacked saying “no personal info or payment info was stolen”… it’s a lie, but it makes people feel better

 

[Theinsanegamer]

If you're using AI, you shouldn't expect your product to be treated or priced like a luxury, but as mass produced commodities.

Developers haven't figured this out yet, they're a bit slow on the uptake.

 

[Kirby1]

All games are made with AI now. No one is going to write every single line of code if they dont have to.

Sega messed up tho, because valve only asks you if your marketing material is AI generated and they specifically say "dont check this box if you use AI to help with development".

 

[user556]

All games are made with AI now. Now one is going to write every single line of code if they dont have to.

That's just plain wrong. When they are doing AI assisted, it's for the art and sound effects. Using it as a pirating machine. Not much more than a search engine with extra features.

You'd end up with an unmanageable bloated mess if you asked for the whole game written by an LLM.

 

[redgarl]

All studios do, and the ones saying otherwise are lying. It is the same for all content creation.

People can deny it as much as they want, but AI is a game changer. It even solved ERDOS problems in maths that people were never able to solve. Mathematicians were downplaying AI until they realize they were in the wrong. The same will happen to every field of science.

The problem is AI is used to propagate everything that is wrong with our society that is ending up as content on Social Medias. The problem never was AI, it was Social Medias.

 

[Theinsanegamer]

All studios do, and the ones saying otherwise are lying. It is the same for all content creation.

People can deny it as much as they want, but AI is a game changer. It even solved ERDOS problems in maths that people were never able to solve. Mathematicians were downplaying AI until they realize they were in the wrong. The same will happen to every field of science.

The problem is AI is used to propagate everything that is wrong with our society that is ending up as content on Social Medias. The problem never was AI, it was Social Medias.

Or they’re not lying and you’re spreading slander to make yourself feel better about your chosen tech stocks.

Social media is a plural term, BTW. No need for an s on the end

 

[redgarl]

That's just plain wrong. When they are doing AI assisted, it's for the art and sound effects. Using it as a pirating machine. Not much more than a search engine with extra features.

You'd end up with an unmanageable bloated mess if you asked for the whole game written by an LLM.

You are in absolute denial...

Any kind of creative content can be generated with prompt only to end up as potential canvas for design. You can render a full 3D model with a SINGLE picture...

Before, it was all done from scratch, now it is not the case anymore. I never seen so much PCMRs in pure denial since AI blew up.

The technology is just starting and it is already incredible in what it can accomplish in some specific fields, but you guys are all focused on Social Medias Slopped prompted by some Social Media humanity rebute's.

 

[redgarl]

Or they’re not lying and you’re spreading slander to make yourself feel better about your chosen tech stocks.

Social media is a plural term, BTW. No need for an s on the end

There is more than one Social Media...

Facebook, Reddit, Youtube and X have nothing in common. They are just platforms and medias, like there is more than one broadcaster for TV and radio. They are medias.

 

[NumberNine]

Why is there a new, inferior version of this game? Oh right, they need more money!

I have been running this game flawlessly on nearly every handheld, PC, and smart phone I own for nearly 20 years now.

Just can't justify giving them more cash.

 

[Endymio]

If you're using AI, you shouldn't expect your product to be treated or priced like a luxury, but as mass produced commodities.

Was this a joke? No one typed into an AI model, "make me a taxi based videogame" and got a product. Accelerating developer output moderately doesn't erase production costs.

And anyone who thinks $70 is a "luxury product" probably shouldn't be commenting anyway. Those $70 shirts you buy in the store have a manufacturing cost of about $2.

 

[Squid Surprise]

There is more than one Social Media...

Facebook, Reddit, Youtube and X have nothing in common. They are just platforms and medias, like there is more than one broadcaster for TV and radio. They are medias.

Well, he’s wrong in every way but grammatically… “media” is plural. “Medium” is singular.

If you were to say “tv, internet, books, etc are all medias”, you’d be incorrect. They are all MEDIA…

But he was just obfuscating the real issues, which you were correct about

 

[bviktor]

All studios do, and the ones saying otherwise are lying. It is the same for all content creation.

People can deny it as much as they want, but AI is a game changer. It even solved ERDOS problems in maths that people were never able to solve. Mathematicians were downplaying AI until they realize they were in the wrong. The same will happen to every field of science.

The problem is AI is used to propagate everything that is wrong with our society that is ending up as content on Social Medias. The problem never was AI, it was Social Medias.

Yeah, except at the same time software quality is consistently going down.

Let me know when you managed to connect the dots.

 

[Kirby1]

That's just plain wrong. When they are doing AI assisted, it's for the art and sound effects. Using it as a pirating machine. Not much more than a search engine with extra features.

You'd end up with an unmanageable bloated mess if you asked for the whole game written by an LLM.

Not writing every single line of code doesn't mean generating an entire game with AI.

Follow along and don't waste my time with brain dead comments.

 

[JaredTheDragon]

You are in absolute denial...

Any kind of creative content can be generated with prompt only to end up as potential canvas for design. You can render a full 3D model with a SINGLE picture...

Before, it was all done from scratch, now it is not the case anymore. I never seen so much PCMRs in pure denial since AI blew up.

The technology is just starting and it is already incredible in what it can accomplish in some specific fields, but you guys are all focused on Social Medias Slopped prompted by some Social Media humanity rebute's.

Tell us you don't even know what a 3D model is while telling us you also don't even know what rendering is, bro.

 

[Kirby1]

Tell us you don't even know what a 3D model is while telling us you also don't even know what rendering is, bro.

What did he say to make you think he doesn't know what a 3D model is?

Are you human? What's 6 * 11?

 

[IksPiks]

Was this a joke? No one typed into an AI model, "make me a taxi based videogame" and got a product. Accelerating developer output moderately doesn't erase production costs.

And anyone who thinks $70 is a "luxury product" probably shouldn't be commenting anyway. Those $70 shirts you buy in the store have a manufacturing cost of about $2.

It's not about making a game with a single prompt, of course.
But a single prompt can easily be the source of a complete visual design, a set of textures, etc... all that used to be handled by a graph/design department.
For instance, did you know that Disney fired all their designers that designed super-heroes ? Actors are now "standing up" (mentionning in interviews) about that.

So yes, I agree that if you're going to slash your development times, reduce the team sizes and mass produce - then the price have to go down.

 

[Gravitytr1]

If you're using AI, you shouldn't expect your product to be treated or priced like a luxury, but as mass produced commodities.

Developers haven't figured this out yet, they're a bit slow on the uptake.

Nah they know, they think they can fool customers. Which, I mean, they can. We got a bunch of AI bootlickers here to prove it.