Vince Zampella, co-creator of one of the world’s leading and best-selling video games, “Call of Duty,” has reportedly died in a car crash in California on Monday at the age of 55.
Zampella’s death was confirmed by Electronic Arts, which owns Respawn Entertainment, a game studio he co-founded.
The influential video game developer was travelling in a Ferrari with another person when it crashed and caught fire on a highway in Los Angeles on Sunday.
“This is an unimaginable loss, and our hearts are with Vince’s family, his loved ones, and all those touched by his work,” a spokesperson for Electronic Arts told the BBC.
According to the US officials, the person on the vehicle’s passenger seat was ejected while the driver remained trapped, stating that it is unclear if Zampella was driving the car and who the other person inside was.
Both people inside the vehicle died.
“For unknown reasons, the vehicle veered off the roadway, struck a concrete barrier, and became fully engulfed,” the California Highway Patrol said in a statement to the BBC.
Zampella was best known for co-creating the “Call of Duty” franchise and founding Respawn Entertainment, the studio behind “Titanfall,” “Apex Legends,” and the “Star Wars Jedi” games.
After starting in the 1990s as a designer on shooter games, he co-founded Infinity Ward in 2002 and helped launch “Call of Duty” in 2003. Activision later acquired his studio.
He left Activision under contentious circumstances and established Respawn in 2010, which Electronic Arts acquired in 2017.
According to the BBC, in 2010, Zampella and West were fired from Activision, which publishes the Call of Duty games, and the pair were subsequently locked in a long dispute with the company, which they settled out of court in 2012.
At EA, he eventually took charge of revitalising the “Battlefield” franchise, cementing his reputation as one of the most influential figures in modern first-person shooter games.
Infinity Ward, the American company that developed Call of Duty, said Zampella “will always have a special place in our history.”
“Your legacy of creating iconic, lasting entertainment is immeasurable,” the company said in a statement on X.
