Acting in video-games – voice but also motion-capture and likeness – is a growing opportunity for actors. And, as it turns out, actors and rappers who died a full three decades ago.
Tupac Shakur is going to feature in an upcoming console game called ‘Stranger Than Heaven’, but not as himself. His digital likeness will be playing a character called Amaru in the game, which is an action-adventure set across 50 years in Japan.
“Tupac’s portrayal of the character Amaru in Stranger Than Heaven is made possible with the permission and ongoing supervision of his estate, Amaru Entertainment,” announced publisher Sega and developer RGG Studio.
“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.”
It’s not the first time Shakur has been digitally resurrected. He famously appeared in hologram form during Dr Dre’s set at the 2012 Coachella festival. More recently, Drake’s use of what sounded like an AI-cloned Tupac in a diss track attracted legal threats from the latter’s estate.
Snoop Dogg is also playing a character in the Stranger Than Heaven game, which is due to be released in January 2027. Its cast-reveal trailer – including another dead actor, Bunta Sugawara – was published this weekend.
