Sega and Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio have confirmed that Tupac Shakur will appear as a playable or featured character in their upcoming action-RPG Stranger Than Heaven, with the Tupac estate signing off on the use of his likeness.
The announcement of Pac’s appearance as a character named Amaru (the late rap icon’s middle name, taken from the 18th century Peruvian rebel Túpac Amaru II) came Friday at Summer Game Fest 2026, where Snoop Dogg stepped onstage to personally explain the decision.
"The Tupac estate and my son and myself, we work very closely together," Snoop said, according to Video Games Chronicle. "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."
Snoop Dogg is himself part of the game's cast, alongside his son Cordell Broadus, who also appears as a character. The broader ensemble includes Yu Shirota, Dean Fujioka, Moeka Hoshi, Akio Otsuka, Tokuma Nishioka, Takashi Ukaji, the late Bunta Sugawara, and singers Tori Kelly, Satoshi Fujihara, and Ado.
Stranger Than Heaven is described as "a fifty-year, action-adventure saga of men with nowhere to go and their desperate struggle to find a home," spanning five cities and eras of modern Japan. The story opens in 1915 and centers on Makoto Daito, a young man born to an American father and a Japanese mother, who is left to choose between America and Japan after losing both parents.
The inclusion of Tupac marks another significant posthumous appearance for the rapper, who was shot and killed in Las Vegas in 1996. His estate has previously authorized use of his likeness for major projects, including the widely covered virtual performance at Coachella 2012.
Stranger Than Heaven launches January 15, 2027 on PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC, and will be available on Xbox Game Pass from day one. The game comes from Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio, the team behind the Like a Dragon and Yakuza series.
