SEGA has returned the Crazy Taxi franchise to the spotlight with Crazy Taxi: World Tour, a newly revealed entry in the arcade racing series.
The title was unveiled during the Xbox Showcase and is confirmed for release on Nintendo Switch 2 sometime in 2027, though the publisher has not provided a firm launch date.
The announcement also reignited industry debate after SEGA disclosed that generative AI tools were used during development.
What SEGA officially said
SEGA told outlets that generative AI was made available to development teams as an optional support tool intended to help creators focus on higher-level creative tasks.
The company explained that AI-assisted content was limited to supporting background-asset creation, and any AI-generated material was subject to review by the development team.
SEGA further stated that no AI was used with respect to the performers featured in the game.
Producer perspective and development workflow
Game Informer followed up with Crazy Taxi: World Tour series producer Kenji Kanno for more granular detail.
Kanno described generative AI as a small, auxiliary part of the studio's creative pipeline rather than a replacement for human work.
He said the team’s artists and designers conducted real-world research — visiting locations and collecting reference material for the game’s five-country World Tour — and then used AI-generated images only as ideation prompts.
According to Kanno, those prompts guided the team’s own designs, with artists producing the final assets that appear in the game.
He emphasized that the development team in Japan intends for the finished product to consist of original, artist-created content.
Verified timeline and platforms
Crazy Taxi: World Tour currently has no specific release date, but SEGA has scheduled the title for Nintendo Switch 2 in 2027.
The game was revealed publicly during the Xbox Showcase event.
Beyond those confirmed details, SEGA and the development team have not announced additional platforms or a precise launch window.
Industry context
The use of generative AI in game development remains a contentious topic across the industry.
In this case, SEGA and the Crazy Taxi: World Tour team have described AI as a supportive ideation tool subject to human review, while asserting that final in-game assets are created and approved by their artists and designers.
As the title progresses toward its 2027 Switch 2 release window, further developer updates and examples of final assets will be the clearest indicators of how that process translated into the shipped game.
The title was unveiled during the Xbox Showcase and is confirmed for release on Nintendo Switch 2 sometime in 2027, though the publisher has not provided a firm launch date.
The announcement also reignited industry debate after SEGA disclosed that generative AI tools were used during development.
What SEGA officially said
SEGA told outlets that generative AI was made available to development teams as an optional support tool intended to help creators focus on higher-level creative tasks.
The company explained that AI-assisted content was limited to supporting background-asset creation, and any AI-generated material was subject to review by the development team.
SEGA further stated that no AI was used with respect to the performers featured in the game.
Producer perspective and development workflow
Game Informer followed up with Crazy Taxi: World Tour series producer Kenji Kanno for more granular detail.
Kanno described generative AI as a small, auxiliary part of the studio's creative pipeline rather than a replacement for human work.
He said the team’s artists and designers conducted real-world research — visiting locations and collecting reference material for the game’s five-country World Tour — and then used AI-generated images only as ideation prompts.
According to Kanno, those prompts guided the team’s own designs, with artists producing the final assets that appear in the game.
He emphasized that the development team in Japan intends for the finished product to consist of original, artist-created content.
Verified timeline and platforms
Crazy Taxi: World Tour currently has no specific release date, but SEGA has scheduled the title for Nintendo Switch 2 in 2027.
The game was revealed publicly during the Xbox Showcase event.
Beyond those confirmed details, SEGA and the development team have not announced additional platforms or a precise launch window.
Industry context
The use of generative AI in game development remains a contentious topic across the industry.
In this case, SEGA and the Crazy Taxi: World Tour team have described AI as a supportive ideation tool subject to human review, while asserting that final in-game assets are created and approved by their artists and designers.
As the title progresses toward its 2027 Switch 2 release window, further developer updates and examples of final assets will be the clearest indicators of how that process translated into the shipped game.