DJ AM, a playable character in Activision's forthcoming DJ Hero, was found dead in his Manhattan apartment Friday.
Adam Goldstein, as he was known in real life, was a performer with a well-known history of drug addiction, and recovery from it. He was 36.
Tim Riley, the Activision vice president of music affairs, released a brief statement on word of Goldstein's death: \"We are deeply saddened by the loss of DJ AM. We hope that his work on the game will be a fitting tribute to his creative spirit and musical talent.\"
So it doesn't sound like the tragic development changes anything about DJ AM's appearance in the game, due for release Oct. 27.
The Associated Press reported that police found prescription medications and a crack pipe in Goldstein's apartment in New York. Paramedics discovered him shirtless and wearing sweatpants in his bed at 5:20 p.m. on Friday. A friend had called police, alarmed that he was unable to get into the home. There was no evidence of foul play.
Goldstein was quite open about his addiction to crack, ecstasy and other drugs, which led to a failed suicide attempt. MTV planned to debut his reality show in October, in which he would stage interventions for drug abusers.
In 2008, Goldstein was badly hurt in the airplane crash that killed four people and seriously injured Travis Barker, the Blink-182 drummer.
