Rapper Snoop Dogg has spent the last several decades adding almost as many successful business ventures to his portfolio as he has musical awards to his artistic accomplishments. And this week, he diversified his business portfolio even more, stepping into the world of tech with his son, Cordell Broadus, as the two announced Death Row Games, a Fortnite-based game studio designed to provide access and opportunity to diverse creators and broaden the narrative around gaming.
The game studio relies on Epic Games’ Unreal Engine 5 (UE5), a community-based platform that allows anyone from individual creators to professional gaming studios to create content using open-source code. (Epic Games takes a 5% royalty fee from most developers who sell their content via the platform.) The versatile code allows creators to create games that are usually functional on most consoles including Xbox, Playstation, PC, and VR devices.
Snoop stated that he and his son have been experimenting with game publishing for the last few years, but on an amateur level. They decided to start Death Row Games as a way to make
“a home for diverse creators in the gaming ecosystem and be a part of the narrative, the storytelling of what the next game should be looking like. And I keep saying ‘show representation of the culture in these sectors,’ versus us just being the talent. We wanted to make sure that we’re part of the decision that’s being made and more importantly tell these stories from diverse creators and focus on creatives in underserved communities.”
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For those that may not be aware, Snoop has been involved in the gaming industry for quite some time, participating in the esports gaming collective FaZe Clan and also had a custom skin in Call of Duty and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare. In 2019, he launched his own esports tournament series, the Gangsta Gaming League and in 2021, he dropped an exclusive NFT collection titled “A Journey with the Dogg.” In 2013, the rapper also debuted the Snoopify app, which allows users to add Snoop Dogg-themed stickers and graphics to their personal photos.
Death Row Games will join Snoop’s other business ventures, which have an estimated net worth of $160 million and include Snoop Doggie Dogg’s pet product line, venture capital firm Casa Verde Capital, the Leafs by Snoop cannabis brand, Snoopadelic Films, his Indoggo gin line, and several more. Cordell, Snoop’s second-oldest son, also has experience in the game design and NFT space.
No word if Snoop will show up like Travis Scott to perform a Fortnite concert for fans yet, but Snoop did set up residency in The Sandbox gaming metaverse back in 2021, hosting a virtual performance and dropping custom NFTs for fans.
