Sega Europe developer Brian Ayers has passed away at the age of 42. Ryan King confirmed during the weekend, saying that Ayers passed after a "short illness." 

"[Brian] was truly the best of us - warm, funny, brilliant, a huge loss to us all," wrote King.

Ayers joined the game industry in 2008 as a sales executive for Konami. He was promoted to the rank of PR manager in 2010. He'd serve as the publisher's European brand manager until 2014, when he jumped ship to be Capcom's brand manager. 

Come 2021, Ayers left Capcom to become a senior product marketing manager at Paradox Interactive. Towards the end of 2021, he worked at Sega Europe for a similar position. 

Prior to working in games, Ayers was a vocalist for the London punk rock band Hitechjet.

Ayers is survived by his partner Kay, and well-wishers can provide support via Ayers' JustGiving page.