Vince Zampella, Co-Creator of Call of Duty and Respawn Entertainment Founder, Dies in Car Crash at 55

Vince Zampella

Vince Zampella, one of the most influential figures in modern video game history, tragically died in a car crash on Southern California’s Angeles Crest Highway on Sunday afternoon. He was 55 years old.

According to NBC4, the single-car accident occurred at around 12:45 p.m. when a Ferrari 296 GTS veered off the road in the San Gabriel Mountains, striking a concrete barrier. The California Highway Patrol reported that a passenger was ejected from the vehicle and later died at a hospital, while the driver was trapped in the ensuing fire and pronounced dead at the scene.

Authorities have not yet released details about what caused the crash, though witness video has been provided to investigators.

Zampella’s passing marks the loss of a visionary who reshaped the gaming industry multiple times over. He first rose to prominence as the co-founder of Infinity Ward, the studio behind the blockbuster Call of Duty franchise. Alongside Jason West, Zampella co-created Call of Duty in 2003, a series that went on to become one of the most successful entertainment properties in history.

Before that, he had already made his mark as lead designer on EA’s Medal of Honor: Allied Assault, a title that helped define the military shooter genre.

In March 2010, just months after Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 raked in over $1 billion in revenue, Zampella was fired from Infinity Ward, sparking a high-profile legal battle with Activision over alleged unpaid royalties from the franchise. The fallout led him and West to depart Infinity Ward, taking much of the team with them.

A month later, they founded Respawn Entertainment (later acquired by EA in 2017) and went on to create several critically acclaimed games, including Titanfall, Titanfall 2, Apex Legends, Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, and Star Wars Jedi: Survivor.

Thanks to Respawn’s success under his leadership, Zampella gained broader responsibilities at EA. He took over Ripple Effect Studios (formerly DICE LA) and was promoted to oversee the Battlefield franchise post-2042 backlash. As a result, Battlefield 6 is now poised to become the top-selling game of the year, a first for the series.

RIP Vince.