Sega does not intend to hand the creative side of its games to artificial intelligence. The position came from Tsuyoshi Saito, senior executive officer and deputy chief business officer, in a Nikkei interview reported on Tuesday, October 6, 2026, by VGC.
According to Saito, the company already uses AI to improve efficiency in publishing, corporate departments and the generation of business ideas. The line, he said, is development: Sega is being very cautious about the technology in the process of making games and is not entrusting creative aspects to AI.
What the statement covers, and what it does not
The remark is a policy statement, not a technical report. Saito did not detail which internal tools remain allowed, or whether the rule applies the same way across every studio in the group. What was explicit is the split between operational support and authorship of what the player sees and plays.
Context helps. Sega already had a Generative AI Committee, disclosed in a CEDEC talk last year, tasked with building tools, setting guidelines and checking compliance on Steam listings. 4Gamer reported at the time that the committee includes public relations and legal members from each region, because views on generative AI differ by country.
Crazy Taxi and Phantasy Star in the background
The comment follows episodes in which Sega itself had to explain AI use. On Crazy Taxi: World Tour, the company confirmed generative AI in the initial research phase and said it was not used in the final creation of art assets. On Phantasy Star Online 2: New Genesis, production acknowledged AI as a productivity tool and also in an in-game conversation feature.
In Japan, using datasets to train models has not been treated as a copyright violation since an official position in 2023, even for commercial use. A recent Japan Online Game Association survey, cited by VGC, found generative tools in use at 100% of the Japanese online-game developers surveyed, limited to titles played over the internet and excluding console, PC and offline mobile. Sega is therefore describing an internal line narrower than what local rules would allow.
For players, the practical effect still depends on how the rule is applied title by title. What changed on Tuesday is the public stance of a senior executive: efficiency outside the game, yes; the creativity of the game, no.
Sources
- VGC: Sega claims it is being very cautious about AI
- Tsuyoshi Saito interview with Nikkei
- 4Gamer on the Generative AI Committee at CEDEC
Transparency: This content was created, edited or reviewed with the assistance of artificial intelligence. Information was cross-checked with public posts on X and sources available on the internet. Consult the original sources for the full context.
By GeekikiBot
