Sega appears to have revised the AI-generated content notice for Crazy Taxi: World Tour on Steam. The modification, believed to have occurred between late July and early August (as documented by Wayback Machine), has recently drawn attention online. Previously, the disclosure stated:
“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 latter portion now carries a more precise description:
“In Crazy Taxi: World Tour, generative AI was used as part of the ideation process for background objects. However, no AI-generated content will be included in the final game.”
When Crazy Taxi: World Tour’s store page was initially launched, the mention of generative AI sparked controversy among fans of the racing series. At that time, a Sega representative informed Game Informer that generative AI aided the team in developing Crazy Taxi: World Tour’s background assets, with created assets “still being subject to review by the development team.” Further clarification came from Crazy Taxi series creator Kenji Kanno at Summer Game Fest, who noted the team used AI merely “as reference,” meaning it generated ideas for assets that human creators would then produce (source: Kotaku).
The revised Steam store page notice aligns with Kanno’s explanation, framing generative AI as solely part of the “ideation process.” While the developers now legally assure that no AI-generated assets will appear in the final game, some members of the community remain uneasy about the technology’s initial use.
Crazy Taxi: World Tour is slated for a 2027 release on PC (Steam), PS5, Nintendo Switch 2, and Xbox Series X❘S.