Crazy Taxi: World Tour Dev Defends GenAI Use
Sega announced Crazy Taxi: World Tour, reviving the classic arcade franchise with generative AI integrated into its development process. Series creator Kenji Kanno defended the decision in an interview with Kotaku, clarifying exactly how the technology was employed.
According to Kanno, generative AI served as a reference tool rather than a content creation tool. Artists would use GenAI to explore and generate design ideas, then use those generated images as reference while creating the final artwork themselves. “Everything from programming to assets, everything is made by an actual human,” Kanno stated. “It’s only used as a reference for them to look at and then they would actually create the actual thing that would go into the game.”
The announcement triggered discussions about GenAI’s role in game development. Kanno emphasized that no AI-generated assets were included in the final game—all creative work shipped with Crazy Taxi: World Tour was produced by human developers. However, some reporting suggested Sega may have used GenAI to generate background assets, creating ambiguity around the exact scope of AI involvement.
Kanno predicted that generative AI would become an increasingly contentious topic in the gaming industry as the technology evolves. The controversy reflects broader concerns about GenAI’s integration into creative industries and the distinction between using AI as a creative tool versus delegating content creation to AI systems.