RGG Studio’s Stranger Than Heaven is certainly living up to its title, as the decision to resurrect the late rapper Tupac Shakur as a character in the game was perceived as odd when it was first announced at Summer Game Fest. In a new update on the game, RGG Studio revealed more details about the game’s cast, including a brief description of how it revived Shakur using traditional research methods. The main takeaway is that the Yakuza and Like a Dragon developer managed to avoid making the casting more controversial by confirming that no artificial intelligence technology was used.
“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,” the studio wrote. More details on the character who uses Shakur’s likeness, Amaru, will be shared at a later date.
According to RGG Studio head Masayoshi Yokoyama, it was Snoop Dogg himself who suggested Tupac for the role. The rapper also appears in Stranger Than Heaven, where his official character description notes that he plays the globe-trotting merchant Orpheus, who has an “open mind” about the legality of his wares. In the game, Orpheus discovers that the protagonist, Daito, has stowed away aboard his ship, and he mentors him in the harsh life that awaits him on his way to 1915 Japan.
The rest of the game’s cast also features a varied and talented selection of performers from across the globe, including musicians Tori Kelly and Satoshi Fujihara, Shogun actor Tokuma Nishioka, and famed voice actor Akio Otsuka. You can expect to encounter all of them throughout the game’s story, which covers 50 years of history.
Stranger Than Heaven cast
- Makoto Daito (Portrayed by Yu Shirota)
- Yu Shinjo (Portrayed by Dean Fujioka)
- Orpheus (Portrayed by Snoop Dogg)
- Heigo Yashima (Portrayed by Akio Otsuka)
- Tae Matsumoto (Portrayed by Moeka Hoshi）
- Suzy Day (Portrayed by Tori Kelly）
- Kiyoshi Otsuru (Portrayed by Tokuma Nishioka）
- Takashi (Portrayed by Satoshi Fujihara）
- The Veiled Stranger (Portrayed by Cordell Broadus）
- Keiko Shirai (Portrayed by Ado）
- Genzo Iwaki (Portrayed by Bunta Sugawara/Voiced by Takashi Ukaji）
- Tadashi Hataoka (Portrayed by Takashi Ukaji）
- Takeo Godai (Portrayed by Takaya Kuroda）
- Suekichi (Portrayed by Kouhei Tsuji）
- Tetsuya Hama (Portrayed by Yasukaze Motomiya）
- Amaru (Portrayed by Tupac）
- Kimura (Portrayed by Daisuke Shiba）
Tupac Shakur isn’t the only famous face to have been used in a video game lately, as Capcom’s Onimusha: Way of the Sword used the likeness and mannerisms of the late actor Toshiro Mifune. As Yokoyama explained, this has become commonplace in Japan and isn’t generally frowned upon. “In Japan, there isn’t really so much sensitivity over this issue because this is something that’s kind of part and parcel of the Japanese gaming culture for 20-plus years. There’s been a lot of people who have modeled their characters after actors alive and passed away,” Yokoyama said to GameSpot earlier this year.
Stranger Than Heaven launches on January 15, 2027, for PC, Xbox Series X|S, and PS5. The game will also be available day-one through Xbox Game Pass.
