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Sega draws a line around AI use in game development
By GamesHub
Sega says it is using AI to improve efficiency in publishing and corporate departments, and to help generate business ideas, but it won’t hand the creative aspects of game-making over to the technology. GamesIndustry.biz reports that senior executive officer and deputy chief business officer Tsuyoshi Saito set out the company’s position in an interview with Nikkei.
That distinction matters for players: Sega isn’t describing a blanket ban on AI across development, but it is drawing a line between business support and creative responsibility. The company says it is cautious about generative AI in game development, a topic that has already attracted scrutiny around one of its most recognisable series.
Where Sega says AI fits
Sega’s stated uses include publishing, corporate work and generating business ideas. The company has also established a Generative AI Committee, which includes an AI Task Force responsible for developing in-house tools. That points to active efforts to manage and support AI use, rather than a hands-off approach.
The committee’s work also covers requests from game distribution platforms for information about AI use. Sega’s public-relations departments in North America and Europe collaborate on those disclosures, according to the report. For players, that process could make it easier to understand where the technology has been used in a game, even as the company keeps its creative boundary deliberately cautious.
That approach sits within a wider conversation about what AI should actually do in game development. Capcom has also discussed using AI to improve development efficiency, while AI tools for creating game content show a more directly creative application.
| Area | Sega’s stated position | What the report says | What it means |
|---|---|---|---|
| Publishing and corporate departments | AI can improve efficiency | These are named areas of use | Business-support applications |
| Business ideas | AI can help generate ideas | Included among Sega’s stated uses | Not the same as handing over final creative work |
| Game development | Sega is cautious | Creative aspects won’t be entrusted to AI | No claim of a total ban on development-related use |
The Crazy Taxi context
Sega’s careful wording follows controversy over generative AI use during development of Crazy Taxi: World Tour, including work on background assets. Series creator Kenji Kanno previously described that use as being for ideas and reference, rather than suggesting that AI was responsible for the game’s finished creative work.
That distinction hasn’t stopped fans from questioning where the line sits. Player concern about whether a game contains AI-generated material has surfaced elsewhere, too, including when a visual bug in Wolverine prompted public discussion about AI use.
A policy under scrutiny
Saito’s comments describe a company looking to use AI for practical support while retaining human responsibility for game creativity. Sega’s committee and disclosure work provide some structure around that position, but its earlier Crazy Taxi disclosure shows why players will pay close attention to how those principles apply in practice.
The report doesn’t set out a new deadline or next step for Sega’s AI policy. For now, the clearest takeaway is the company’s stated distinction: efficiency and business support are on the table, while creative game-making remains an area where Sega says it is proceeding cautiously.
