Oh right I remember that. But I think that didn’t have an open world, while crazy taxi did. Another one was a game where you drive a taxi in like a post apocylpse new york or something, like in escape from new york. Oh right: Quarantine 1994 while Crazy Taxi and Driver is from 1999. GTA III came out 2002^*^
The problem is publishers and the huge risk you’re selling to create a hit. You still have shareholders. Those who take the risk in financing a game development and those who own the IP.
Unless you got extremely lucky and can gamble with your own cash you always have shareholders in game development.