Call of Duty creator Vince Zampella dies in Ferrari crash aged 56

"Zampella was killed Sunday afternoon in a single-car crash on the Angeles Crest Highway in the San Gabriel Mountains, Southern California. According to the California Highway Patrol, a 2026 Ferrari 296 GTS veered off the road and hit a concrete barrier. Zampella, who was driving, was trapped in the ensuing car fire and died at the scene. An unnamed passenger died at a hospital."

"Zampella, who was one of the cofounders of pioneering games studio Infinity Ward, also worked on a string of high-profile games including Medal of Honor, Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order and Battlefield 6. From 1999 to 2002, he worked at 2015 Inc. and was a lead designer for the popular war game Medal of Honor: Allied Assault."

"In 2003 he co-founded studio Infinity Ward with fellow developers Grant Collier and Jason West. They developed a rival to the Medal of Honor series, which became known as Call of Duty and launched in 2003. The same year, Infinity Ward became a subsidiary of Activision. Over the next two decades, the Call of Duty sold over 500 million copies and generated about $30 billion in revenue."

"Zampella and West were fired by Activision not long after the release of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 in 2009. They sued for wrongful termination and were eventually awarded a payout believed to be worth tens of millions of dollars. In April 2010, Zampella and West founded a new games studio, Respawn Entertainment. Respawn was bought by video game giant Electronic Arts."

Vince Zampella died at the scene of a single-car crash on the Angeles Crest Highway in the San Gabriel Mountains. A 2026 Ferrari 296 GTS veered off the road and struck a concrete barrier. Zampella, who was driving, became trapped in the resulting car fire and died. An unnamed passenger died later at a hospital. Zampella co-founded Infinity Ward and helped develop Medal of Honor: Allied Assault and the Call of Duty franchise, which sold over 500 million copies and generated about $30 billion. He was fired by Activision in 2009, later received a wrongful termination payout, and co-founded Respawn Entertainment in 2010, which was later acquired by Electronic Arts.

Read at The Independent