Call of Duty co-creator, Respawn founder and Battlefield boss Vince Zampella has died
The iconic 55-year-old game maker dies in a car crash
Vince Zampella, one of the most iconic names in shooter video games, has died.
The Infinity Ward co-founder, Call of Duty co-creator, Respawn CEO and Battlefield boss died in a crash crash in Los Angeles, NBC Los Angeles reports.
Zampella worked as a producer on numerous hit titles, but first made a big name for himself as the development director on 2002’s Medal of Honor: Allied Assault. The game was developed by 2015 Inc for Electronic Arts, and it went on to become a critical hit.
EA decided to bring all Medal of Honor development in-house, so it cut its relationship with 2015 Inc, and tried to entice the team to come work for it instead. Its efforts failed. Activision approached the same team, including Zampella, with the proposal that they could form their own studio and develop an original shooter game. That studio would become Infinity Ward and the shooter would be called Call of Duty, which launched in October 2003. Its codename was ‘MOH Killer’.
Under the leadership of Zampella and Jason West, Infinity Ward became one of the most successful game developers in the world, leading to the creation of the Modern Warfare series. However, the team’s relationship with Activision broke down over a dispute over contracts and royalties, leading to Zampella and West being fired in 2010.
The two then formed Respawn, with a number of Infinity Ward staff joining them, and they went on to create Titanfall. The game was published by EA, which was now operating under new leadership. West left Respawn in 2013, and EA acquired the studio in 2017. It would go on to develop games in the Star Wars and Medal of Honor franchises, and built the hit battle royale game Apex Legends.
In 2021, Zampella was tasked by EA to relaunch the Battlefield series, which led to the release of Battlefield 6 this year. The game has been a huge commercial hit, and is expected to unseat Call of Duty this year as the world’s biggest first person shooter.
Geoff Keighley, the leader of The Game Awards and co-founder of The Game Business, wrote on X: “Vince was an extraordinary person — a gamer at heart, but also a visionary executive with a rare ability to recognize talent and give people the freedom and confidence to create something truly great.
”I saw that up close while writing The Final Hours of Titanfall. I’ll always be deeply grateful that he trusted me to tell the story of the company’s founding. Even when it was difficult or uncomfortable, Vince never wavered in his commitment to honesty and transparency. He believed that the truth mattered, and he was willing to share it with the world.”
”Vince cared deeply about doing the right thing. And even while working inside large organizations, he consistently pushed to put players first -- to prioritize the experience, the craft, and the people who played the games.
”He leaves behind an incredible legacy of work. I’ll miss our dinners and long conversations. And while he created some of the most influential games of our time, I always felt he still had his greatest one ahead of him. It’s heartbreaking that we’ll never get to play it.”