Did that Coachella appearance get him the job?
Stranger than paradisethe next game from RGG Studio and Sega will include Tupac. Yes, that Tupac. No, we don’t have any good answers. The West Coast rapper is digitally resurrected once again, this time to accompany the game’s protagonist, Makoto Daito, on his generational journey across Japan. Snoop Dogg arrived on stage at Summer Games Fest 2026 alongside producer Hiroyuki Sakamoto to announce and promote Death Row Games, the studio he co-founded with his son.
The new trailer for Stranger than paradise shows our protagonist embarking on an epic quest across late 20th century Japan, with actors including Snoop Dogg credited on screen in pulp Fiction cast iron. Then things take a confusing turn as the trailer dramatically pauses and Tupac steps out of the shadows, wearing an open-breasted kimono and his distinctive paisley-print bandana. The reveal is followed by a January 2027 launch date for the title, confirming the winter release date we previously announced. Tupac will not be the only beneficiary of digital necromancy in the game, since Japanese actor Bunta Sugawara, who died ten years ago, will also see his effigy appear.
The memory of Tupac is sacrosanct in hip-hop culture, especially on the West Coast. Nonetheless, the late rapper’s legacy has been co-opted in increasingly bizarre ways over the past decade and a half. A giant, holographic ‘Pac appeared at Coachella in 2012, sparking controversy over the ethics of the stunt. Skip to 2024, and Drake’s biggest mistake during his generational clash with Kendrick Lamar was arguably using an AI voice changer to imitate the martyred artist’s voice. This seemed to draw Lamar’s ire, as he referenced Tupac’s legacy in several bars of his most venomous tracks towards Drake. Now we can add Stranger than paradise to the list of virtual Tupac ghosts.
