The inclusion of the Waymo look-a-likes appears to be part of a larger storyline that will encourage players to "stop the development of a mass surveillance network."

Texting while driving is banned in nearly every state, even with the use of advanced driver-assistance systems like Tesla's Full Self-Driving (Supervised) software.

And the Palo Alto-based startup has raised $7.4 million to do that.

Baltimore, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and St. Louis join a long list of cities where the company is gearing up to offer robotaxi rides.

The new cities will see Waymo tackle harsh winter weather and narrow streets.

Waymo said it will do the same in Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, and Orlando in the coming weeks -- the latest steps in the company's continued expansion across the U.S.

This is not a large-scale public launch, nor a commercial one. But it brings the Amazon-owned company one step closer to competing with Waymo.