Image: Sega
Sega finally lifted the lid on its long-awaited Crazy Taxi reboot last weekend, but there’s one aspect of the reveal that hasn’t found favour with everyone.
Soon after the game’s Steam page went live, fans spotted a Generative AI disclaimer revealing that Sega had used the controversial tech to produce assets in the upcoming title.
The disclaimer states:
“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.”
Game Informer pushed Sega for a little more detail, and was told the following:
“Generative AI was used to support our teams during the development of background assets for ”Crazy Taxi: World Tour”. Assets generated were still subject to review by the development team.”
The reaction online to this revelation hasn’t been especially positive.
How many times do we need to explain that it doesn’t matter if it’s placeholders or whatever? If it’s generative, it’s harmful. Gen AI is theft. It’s polluting and it’s making it so electronic hardware is unaffordable. If you care about even one of those things, don’t defend AI https://t.co/rMb9kDOfkx— Kougeru 🐉⛩️ (@Kougeru) June 7, 2026
What the fuck?
kotaku.com/why-do-you-n…
— Greg Miller (@gameovergreggy.bsky.social) 2026-06-07T19:09:44.558Z
Huh, this hobby is becoming more affordable by the minute. Another release that doesn’t want my money. pic.twitter.com/eAnr6uwFI3— Clemens | DoesItPlay (@patoclemente) June 7, 2026
the funniest/saddest thing about this one in particular is that it’s not like crazy taxi is a difficult game to create. it is an arcade game from over 25 years ago with a solved design. the most difficult task should be picking the soundtrack which, extremely notably, ai can’t help at all with
— ari velazquez 🌯 (@arivelazquez.com) 2026-06-08T06:46:28.252Z
I’m really not ok with creative work being replaced by AI.
Anyone who thinks it’s ok cuz it’s “just background assets” will be cool when it’s more than that, too. You watch. They’re literally relying on that spinelessness to get the gaming community used to accepting Gen AI. https://t.co/VOaEES2ZGP
— HAJiME (@saiyanhajime) June 7, 2026
Generative AI remains a wildly polarising concept, especially in the world of video games. GenAI models which produce images have been trained on copyrighted material without permission, and many of the companies that produce these tools are currently embroiled in legal action.
Another reason so many people within the industry take such a dim view of Gen AI is that it’s actively replacing jobs as we speak. About 45,000 people working in the video game industry were let go between 2022 and the end of 2025, and up to 10,000 more layoffs are expected this year.
Sega isn’t the only company that has come under fire for utilising GenAI in its games; Crystal Dynamics has recently had to defend its use in Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis.
[source gameinformer.com]
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Damien has been writing professionally about tech and video games since 2007 and oversees all of Hookshot Media’s sites from an editorial perspective. He’s also the editor of Time Extension, the network’s newest site, which – paradoxically – is all about gaming’s past glories.