Vince Zampella, known for co-creating the Call of Duty series, among many other roles, has died. Zampella, 55, died in a car crash in Los Angeles on Sunday. The fatal crash killed him, along with the occupant of his car.
According to NBCZampella’s Ferrari hit a concrete barrier after leaving a tunnel in the San Gabriel Mountains, north of Los Angeles. Zampella was unfortunately trapped in an ensuing car fire, and the passenger was ejected.
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Vince Zampella is one of the industry’s most prolific creators. His storied career is long, and is responsible for some of the biggest shooter franchises in history. It started with Medal of Honor in the 90s, a game that changed WW2 shooters forever.
Zampella later co-founded the legendary Infinity Ward in 2002, the team that would go on to redefine multiplayer shooters forever. Infinity Ward is the studio responsible for the Call of Duty series, which remains one of the biggest games for publisher Activision, and the entire industry.
Zampella then left the studio he founded in 2010 following a major fallout with Activision. He, along with longtime collaborator, Jason West, went to rival publisher EA to form Respawn Entertainment.
Respawn went on to create the Titanfall series, and later Apex Legends. The studio is responsible for non-shooters, of course, like the third-person action game series Star Wars Jedi. Zampella was instrumental in making the game possible, having hired God of War 3 director Stig Asmussen to helm a team within Respawn out of a desire to diversify the studio’s output and prove he can do more than make shooters.
Zampella had only recently met with journalists and peers at The Game Awards, where Battlefield 6 was nominated for multiple awards. Battlefield 6 is the most successful game in series history, in part as a result of Zampella’s leadership. The legendary leader was given the reigns of the struggling multiplayer shooter franchise in 2021, with a goal of finding a viable future.
Zampella’s sudden death has shaken the industry, and many mourn his loss as the news started spreading.
“We are heartbroken by the loss of Vince Zampella, a creative leader whose work shaped generations of players and helped define what modern shooters and action games could be,” EA said in a statement.
“While his impact reached far beyond any one game or studio, we will remember Vince for how he showed up every day, trusting his teams, encouraging bold ideas, and believing in Battlefield and the people building it. We are deeply grateful for his leadership, his generosity, and the care he brought to everything he touched, and we will carry that forward with us.”
