A Taiwanese developer burned $10,000 on AI tokens to build Taipei GTA: Go Racing in Taipei, which you can play for free just by opening your browser.

I never thought there’d actually be a Taipei GTA game! Open-world games like GTA usually require a team and several years to develop, but recently an incredibly impressive Taiwanese developer built Taipei GTA: Go Wild in Taipei using only about a month of after-work hours and $10,000 worth of AI tokens, and was generous enough to let everyone play it for free. Not only does it have classic GTA-style gameplay, but famous landmarks like Ximending, Taipei Main Station, and Taipei 101 can all be seen in the game.

Taipei GTA: Built by a Taiwanese engineer in one month after work, burning through $10,000 in AI tokens! Play free in your browser.

Taiwanese developer aicodewithme recently shared on Threads a web game he developed, Taipei GTA: Speed Through Taipei. It is a 3D open-world RPG web game set in Taipei, requires no app download, and can be played directly in a browser on both computers and phones.

In the post, he mentioned that he had already burned through over $10,000 worth of AI tokens to make this game, and that street scenes from Ximending, Taipei Main Station, and Zhongxiao Fuxing had been included. He stressed that this is not a demo but a playable version, and the map is still being continuously expanded. The game already has dozens of missions, including main story, side quests, part-time jobs, and racing, as well as day/night cycles, weather, radio, and a fully functional in-game phone.

According toA report by Mirror Newsaicodewithme said he is still employed and can only develop in his off-hours. Altogether, it took about a month, with 5 to 6 hours invested each day. That works out to roughly 150 to 180 total hours.

The development approach was like one person commanding an entire army of AIs. In an interview, he described how, in the early stage, he first had a “200-strong AI army” gather information on various roads and conduct research, and only then moved into development. The most troublesome part of the process wasn’t writing code, but when the AIs disagreed with one another or even got into arguments, he had to step in and mediate.

As for why he’s so generous, spending so much money yet letting everyone play for free, the developer said in an interview that he really likes Taiwan and hopes more people will get to know Taiwan through this game. He also hopes that whether they are in Taiwan or not, playing it will remind them of the happy times they once spent with family in Taiwan. Currently, the game has a “donation support” feature to cover development and server maintenance.

Head to “Taipei GTA: Go Racing in Taipei”

Taipei GTA is simple to play: on mobile, you use the touchscreen; on PC, you use WASD to move. It also supports several function keys, such as E to interact, F to get in and out of vehicles, M to open the map, and you can even play with a controller.

Here, I’ll use a phone as an example. After opening Taipei GTA, it will start loading the game and also prompt you on how to play in fullscreen (add the game to the home screen):

Game menu screen, with Taipei 101 and Elephant Mountain in the background:

Two characters are available: A-Jie, the “King of Scooters,” and Xiao-Wen, the “Night Market Speedster,” each with their own backstory. The player will take on the role of a young transplant who has moved north to make a life in Taipei:

In Settings, you can find options such as graphics quality, show FPS, master volume, music, and radio:

The character starts with only NT$ 500. The overall style uses low-poly toon shading, and the Chinese signage, arcades, scooters, and traffic light countdowns all have a strong Taiwanese feel, giving the whole atmosphere a vibe reminiscent of 2002’s Grand Theft Auto III. You can enter the convenience stores, cram schools, and bubble tea shops in the game, and some shops even pay homage to 7-Eleven and CoCo:

There are also various side quests, of course. When I tested it, the quest app listed a total of 70 quests—including 15 main, 40 side, 5 part-time jobs, 4 races, and 6 cultural—and 30 lucky cats hidden around the map to collect.

All of Taipei’s major landmarks are there, including Ximending, Taipei Main Station, Zhongxiao Fuxing, the Presidential Office Building, Taipei Dome, Xinyi Planning District, Songshan Cultural and Creative Park, Taipei 101, Longshan Temple, Daan Forest Park, Huashan 1914 Creative Park, Raohe Night Market, and more:

The large map shows a total of 13 MRT stations, 165 shops, 14 temples, 15 night markets, and 66 landmarks. Tap anywhere to set it as a navigation point:

Just like in GTA, you can randomly beat people up and steal cars:

After you hit someone, money will drop on the ground—don’t forget to pick it up. You’ll also become wanted, and nearby pedestrians will scatter and run away:

Remember, don’t get caught by the police. During the process, you can see radio messages, and if you get out of the police’s line of sight, you’ll have a chance to lose them:

You can also ride a bike or drive a car:

It also comes with a complete smartphone built in, featuring 9 apps in total: Tasks, Maps, MRT, Weather, Radio, Camera, Records, Settings, and Help:

The table below shows the control keys for the PC version:

Source: KOCPC Chinese