Legendary video game designer Vince Zampella, who co-created the Call of Duty series, was killed Sunday in a car crash in southern California.
Zampella, 55, most recently led the Battlefield shooter series at EA Games, but also had his hand in many successful franchises, including Medal of Honor, Titanfall, and Apex Legends.
Along with Grant Collier and Jason West, Zampella co-founded the Infinity Ward studio in 2002, which led to the creation of the iconic first-person shooter Call of Duty in 2003. After Infinity Ward was fully acquired by Activision, Zampella was later dismissed and went on to successfully sue the company for tens of millions of dollars in unpaid royalties and bonuses.
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Zampella was integral in some of Call of Duty‘s most acclaimed entries, according to the Guardian, including 2007’s Modern Warfare and 2009’s Modern Warfare 2. The Call of Duty series now encompasses nearly two dozen games and has sold half a billion units.
Zampella co-founded the Respawn studio with Jason West in 2010, which released two Titanfall games under Zampella’s leadership before the company was acquired by EA in 2017. While under EA, Respawn released not only Apex Legends, but also Star Wars games, including Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order and Star Wars Jedi: Survivor.
Zampella, along with another person in his car, died on the Angeles Crest Highway north of Los Angeles on Sunday afternoon in a single-vehicle crash.
EA released the following statement to TMZ on Zampella’s death:
“This is an unimaginable loss, and our hearts are with Vince’s family, his loved ones, and all those touched by his work. Vince’s influence on the video game industry was profound and far-reaching. A friend, colleague, leader and visionary creator, his work helped shape modern interactive entertainment and inspired millions of players and developers around the world. His legacy will continue to shape how games are made and how players connect for generations to come.”
