Vince Zampella, the co-creator of the Call of Duty franchise and one of the founders of Apex Legends and Titanfall developer Respawn Entertainment, has died at the age of 55.
As reported by the BBC (and subsequently confirmed by Respawn on social media), Zampella died in a car crash on Sunday. He was travelling in a Ferrari alongside one other person in Los Angeles when the vehicle “crashed and caught fire”, sadly causing the deaths of both Zampella and another person (who hasn’t been named).
Respawn described Zampella as a “titan and legend of this industry” and praised him for shaping the games on which he worked in “ways that will be felt for generations”. Respawn’s parent company EA called Zampella’s loss “unimaginable” and his impact on the industry “profound and far-reaching”.
Zampella’s career in the video game industry didn’t begin with his work on the Medal of Honor franchise, but that’s arguably the starting point for what he would go on to do. Alongside developer 2015, Zampella worked as lead designer on 2002’s Medal of Honor: Allied Assault.
Following his work on Medal of Honor, Vince Zampella went on to co-found Infinity Ward with fellow designer Jason West, alongside whom he co-created the Call of Duty franchise. Needless to say, the franchise is still going (relatively) strong today.
For its own part, Infinity Ward lamented Zampella’s death on X, describing his “legacy of creating iconic, lasting entertainment” as “immeasurable” and sending its condolences to his family.
Zampella would remain with Infinity Ward until 2010, when, along with West, he was dismissed from the company in an acrimonious split. Again alongside West, he subsequently founded Respawn Entertainment, which is best known for franchises like Titanfall, Apex Legends, and the Star Wars Jedi series.
Our own thoughts at TechRaptor go out to Vince Zampella’s family and loved ones.
