Thirty years after his death, is still making history. SEGA and developer RGG Studio, the legendary team behind the Yakuza and Like a Dragon franchise, have officially confirmed that Tupac Shakur will appear as a playable character in their upcoming action-adventure game “Stranger Than Heaven,” dropping January 15, 2027 on PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC. And Snoop Dogg made the announcement himself at Summer Game Fest 2026.
The character’s name? Amaru, Tupac’s actual middle name, which traces back to the 18th century Peruvian rebel Túpac Amaru II. That kind of detail alone tells you this isn’t a cash grab. This is personal.
The Tupac estate and my son and myself, we work very closely together,” Snoop Dogg said onstage. “So it just made sense to put him in this game, because his likeness and his spirit still lives on. I just felt like it was so connected to what we’re doing.”
Tupac’s estate gave their blessing for Pac’s likeness to be used in STRANGER THAN HEAVEN.
That’s according to Snoop Dogg, who is also featured in the game. pic.twitter.com/Z4AkJUX7nc
— KAMI (@Okami13_) June 6, 2026
The move was made with full authorization from Amaru Entertainment, Tupac’s official estate — the same team that has been famously selective about how his legacy is used. SEGA made clear this wasn’t a lazy AI-generated appearance either. The studio released a statement confirming that “RGG Studio is treating this integration with the utmost respect for his legacy, crafting every aspect in close collaboration and without the use of AI, including his character design based on archival footage and photographs.”
That’s a significant line. In an era where AI likenesses are generating lawsuits and controversy across the entertainment industry, SEGA went the opposite direction, old-school, hands-on, human-crafted work done directly alongside the family.
And this truly is a family affair. Snoop doesn’t just show up as an announcer, he’s in the game too, playing a newly created character named Orpheus. His son Cordell Broadus also has a role. Together, the Broadus family brought their West Coast legacy into a Japanese epic spanning five cities and five decades of 20th century Japan, beginning in 1915. The game blends brutal street combat with a deep focus on music, players can record sounds from their environments and build tracks, making Tupac’s inclusion in a music-driven world feel all the more fitting.
This isn’t the first time Tupac’s likeness has transcended death in a major way. Back in 2012, the Tupac hologram performance at Coachella, produced with Snoop Dogg on stage, broke the internet and redefined what posthumous tributes could look like. That moment proved the culture’s hunger to see Pac again was real. Fourteen years later, the technology and the intention have both evolved.
The game will also be available on Xbox Game Pass from day one.
The bottom line: Snoop didn’t just put his homeboy in a video game — he worked with his family, honored his name’s history, kept the AI out of it, and made sure the legacy landed right. Tupac Amaru Shakur, immortalized once again. In the streets of Japan, no less.
Stranger Than Heaven drops January 15, 2027
