Stranger Than Heaven, the new action game from RGG Studio, the developers behind the Like a Dragon franchise, has generated considerable discussion following its Summer Game Fest 2026 Showcase reveal. The game's cast includes several notable figures, but the inclusion of Tupac Shakur, the influential rapper who passed away 30 years ago, has drawn particular attention. RGG Studio head Masayoshi Yokoyama recently sat down to discuss how the team is approaching the depiction of Tupac.
The concept for casting reportedly began with Snoop Dogg, who plays the character Orpheus. Yokoyama explained that Snoop Dogg's real-world relationships served as inspiration for how characters might interact in the game. "We have Snoop Dogg, he's such an incredible person who has all these really interesting relationships in the real world as well. We wanted to bring on these people with relationships for a lot of different roles," Yokoyama stated. "What if we had a person who had a relationship in the game and outside of the game that maybe mirrors it in some sense."
Tupac's name emerged during discussions with Snoop Dogg about potential cast members. "Initially, we talked to Snoop and we said, 'We have this character, we need to fill this role. Who do you think would be a good role for that?'" Yokoyama recounted. "Then, Tupac's name came out from Snoop's side, but it was kind of playing back and forth." The idea was met with enthusiasm by some within the studio, but Yokoyama emphasized that the next crucial step involved securing approval from Tupac's family and estate.
Addressing potential concerns regarding likeness rights, Yokoyama confirmed that the studio pursued and obtained approval from both the likeness holder and Tupac Shakur's surviving family. "Of course, we wanted to have the family involved in every step along the way to make sure this is respectful to his legacy and honors who he was," he said. The studio's aim was not to recreate Tupac as he was at the time of his passing, but rather to envision who he might be today. "We wanted to try to envision who Tupac might be now, and we did this with the full approval step by step. Going through the family to make sure that everything met it. We wanted to say, 'Okay, if he was still alive now, thirty years later, how would he act? How would he express himself in that way? That's what we're trying to not going into his past, but rather his potential future."
Despite these clarifications and the family's involvement in the approval process, the decision to feature Tupac Shakur in Stranger Than Heaven is likely to remain a subject of debate. The game is slated for release on January 15.