Vince Zampella, the co-creator of the Call of Duty video game series, passed away on Sunday following a car crash in California, as per US media reports. He was 55.
Zampella, the head of the video game developer Respawn Entertainment and the co-founder of Infinity Ward, died in a single-car crash at about 12.45pm, as per a report by NBC Los Angeles.
According to the report, Zampella was riding in a Ferrari, which veered off the road just after exiting a tunnel and hit a concrete barrier. The California Highway Patrol said that a passenger died in the crash. Details about the deceased were not revealed immediately.
Later, the authorities revealed that Zampella, who was driving the car, was trapped in a fire erupting at the scene.
Zampella co-created the hit first-person shooter game Call of Duty along with Jason West and Grant Collier, who founded the studio Infinity Ward in 2002 to develop the first game. He also went on to create the popular entries in the franchise like Modern Warfare (2007) and Modern Warfare 2 (2009).
At other video game studios, Zampella was involved in several major projects like Medal of Honor and Titanfall.
Having started his video games career in the mid-1990s, Zampella was recently promoted to head of the military shooter series Battlefield at EA Games. The sixth instalment of Battlefield was released in October this year.
In 2010, Zampella founded Respawn Entertainment under EA Games. The video game company went on to create the popular first-person shooter game franchise Titanfall and the popular shooter game Apex Legends.
Zampella filed a lawsuit against the COD publisher Activision along with his fellow Infinity Ward developers over unpaid royalties. The COD games have sold more than 500 million copies over the years.
There are 23 mainline Call of Duty games in the franchise. The first-person shooter follows military narratives, often focusing on World War II, the Cold War, and modernistic or near-future conflicts. The stories are centered on special forces, secret operations, and global threats across different nations and time periods.
EA issued a statement on the passing of the game developer. “This is an unimaginable loss, and our hearts are with Vince’s family, his loved ones, and all those touched by his work,” they said.
“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,” Electronic Arts, popularly known as EA, added.