Vince Zampella, co-creator of the popular Call of Duty video game series, has died in a car crash in California at the age of 55.
Electronic Arts, which owns Respawn Entertainment, the studio Zampella co-founded, confirmed his death.
The Accident
Zampella was travelling in a Ferrari with another person when the car crashed and caught fire on a Los Angeles highway on Sunday.
“This is an unimaginable loss, and our hearts are with Vince’s family, his loved ones, and all those touched by his work,” a spokesperson for Electronic Arts told BanerClub.
Officials reported that the passenger was ejected from the vehicle while the driver remained trapped. It is unclear who was driving. Both people in the car died.
The California Highway Patrol said, “For unknown reasons, the vehicle veered off the roadway, struck a concrete barrier, and became fully engulfed.”
Gaming Legacy
Zampella created Call of Duty with collaborators Jason West and Grant Collier in 2003. Inspired partly by World War II, the game has sold over 500 million copies. The franchise has made Microsoft’s Activision one of the most profitable gaming companies and will also see an upcoming live-action film.
He also worked on other popular games, including Medal of Honor, Titanfall, and Apex Legends.
Journalist and Game Awards host Geoff Keighley, who wrote about the making of Titanfall, called Zampella a “dear friend” and a “visionary executive” who “never wavered in his commitment to honesty and transparency.”
“While he created some of the most influential games of our time, I always felt he still had his greatest one ahead of him,” Keighley said. “It’s heartbreaking that we’ll never get to play it.”
“He really cared about the player experience,” Keza MacDonald, the Guardian’s video games editor, told BanerClub. “He cared about making games and how people felt when they played.”
YouTuber MrRoflWaffles, whose Call of Duty content has more than 2.4 million subscribers, credited Zampella for inspiring “a whole generation,” including his own content. “You talk about the Mount Rushmore of gaming—he’s absolutely a staple on that list,” he said.
Career Challenges
In 2010, Zampella and West were fired from Activision, the publisher of Call of Duty. They later settled a long dispute with the company out of court in 2012.
At Electronic Arts, Zampella worked on Battlefield 6, a direct competitor to Call of Duty.
Infinity Ward, the studio behind Call of Duty, said, “Zampella will always have a special place in our history. Your legacy of creating iconic, lasting entertainment is immeasurable.”
