SEGA Uses AI in Crazy Taxi: World Tour and Fans Are Not Having It

What should have been a triumphant return became a headache for SEGA. The announcement of Crazy Taxi: World Tour at Summer Game Fest 2026 promised an open-world reboot with five cities, a story campaign, online multiplayer, and Axel back behind the wheel. Everything looked great... until someone read the Steam page.

What the Steam disclaimer says

On the game's Steam listing, a disclaimer appeared that few companies dare to include: "We utilize generative AI as a support tool for developers." The community's reaction was immediate and furious.

Why does it bother people so much?

The arguments against generative AI use in video games are several:

• Artistic integrity: AI models are trained on other creators' art, often without their consent.
• Environmental cost: the large-scale processing that generative AI requires has a significant carbon footprint.
• Job displacement: using AI for tasks previously done by artists puts creative jobs at risk.

SEGA's response

The game's producer came out to clarify: all AI content was reviewed by human developers, and "everything in the final product is going to be original." They also confirmed that no AI was used in relation to voice actors or performers in the game.

But for many fans, the damage was already done. The hashtag #BoycottCrazyTaxi trended on X (Twitter) for several hours.

What does this tell us about the industry's future?

Crazy Taxi isn't the first game to use generative AI, and it won't be the last. The industry is clearly in a transitional moment where AI tools are being integrated into development pipelines. The question is how to do it ethically and transparently.

Crazy Taxi: World Tour arrives in 2027 on PS5, Xbox Series X|S, Switch 2, and PC. We'll have to see if the controversy leaves a mark on sales.