Director STRANGER THAN HEAVEN speaks out about putting Tupac in the game – Game News

One of the most controversial information after Summer Game Fest 2026 was Tupac Shakur’s appearance STRANGER THAN HEAVENeven though the legendary male rapper passed away nearly 30 years ago. Facing mixed opinions from the community, RGG Studio CEO Masayoshi Yokoyama officially spoke up to explain this decision.

Previously, SEGA confirmed that the character in the game uses Tupac’s appearance but is not Tupac himself in real life. This character will be voiced by a real actor and will not use AI technology to reproduce the voice.

In an interview with IGNYokoyama said the use of Tupac’s image was thoroughly discussed with both the estate management unit and the late artist’s family.

He said this is not the first time RGG Studio has included an image of a deceased person in a game.

“We had a character similar to Tupac, someone who passed away before the game was made. It was Genzo Iwaki, based on the actor Bunta Sugawara.”

Yokoyama explained that the team worked directly with the families and management units of these characters before starting development.

“We made sure we talked to the estate management unit and their families to get permission. More than just getting approval, we also shared what we wanted to do. Not only did they approve, but they were also very excited about this opportunity.”

He emphasized that the team’s goal is to create roles that respect real people.

“We want to give these characters roles that are worthy of who they are. If we can’t do that, we think it would be extremely disrespectful and certainly won’t do it.”

“We have gone to great lengths to ensure that any roles created will honor them and their families.”

Another topic that is also of interest to the community is how RGG Studio handles the voice acting for the character with Tupac’s appearance.

According to Yokoyama, the team could absolutely try recreating voices with AI, but they don’t want to go in that direction.

“The next hurdle in bringing these characters back is their voices.”

“We could probably recreate voices with AI if we wanted to, but this is a studio that values ​​acting, not just in movies but also in theater productions.”

Instead, RGG Studio chose real actors to bring a new expression to the character.

“We wanted to focus on finding a real person to give that character his own stamp.”

“We didn’t want them to simply imitate real people. We wanted them to express the character’s personality with their own voice.”

Yokoyama also revealed that some of the selected actors may have certain relationships or connections with the characters they are portraying.

The director of RGG Studio said he understood that putting Tupac’s image in the game would cause controversy, but this was something the team had anticipated from the beginning.

“I think when creating any entertainment product, there will always be criticism.”

“You can’t say ‘don’t criticize us’, that’s unreasonable. The right to criticize is everyone’s freedom.”

However, he affirmed that the team believes in this creative choice.

“This is something we believe is a good idea. We believe it will bring value to the game, which is why we decided to do it.”

Yokoyama said a similar reaction also happened when RGG Studio used the image of late actress Bunta Sugawara in previous projects.

“As for Tupac, he is a famous figure worldwide, so we expected such reactions.”

“But ultimately, we’re creating something that we believe people will like and enjoy. We believe that will bring value to the game.”

Closing the interview, Yokoyama shared his personal perspective on the role of a game developer.

“For me personally, trying to please everyone is the job of politicians.”

“And for game makers, our mission is to bring inspiring, emotional or profound experiences to as many people as possible.”

“If you only make decisions to avoid criticism, you will end up creating a product that cannot do that.”

It is still unclear the scale of the Tupac-like character’s role in the film STRANGER THAN HEAVEN. However, according to published information, this character will be related to Orpheus – the smuggler played by Snoop Dogg in the game.

STRANGER THAN HEAVEN Scheduled for release on January 15, 2027 on PC, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S.