Call of Duty co-creator Vince Zampella dead at 55

I might be one of the few people who have never played a Call of Duty game, but even with little knowledge of the series, it’s hard to deny the massive impact the first-person shooter franchise has had on the industry. Unfortunately, it’s been announced that Vince Zampella, one of the co-creators of Call of Duty, is dead following a single-car accident near Los Angeles. He was 55.

Zampella Helped Create the Call of Duty Franchise

Zampella was a lead designer on Medal of Honor: Allied Assault, but he founded video game developer Infinity Ward with Grant Collier and Jason West to develop a new game described as a Medal of Honor Killer. That game was Call of Duty, a first-person shooter set during World War II, which allowed players to take control of soldiers in the American, British, and Soviet campaigns. With fast-paced combat and an emphasis on squad-based play, the game was an enormous success.

Under Zampella’s leadership, Infinity Ward released Call of Duty 2, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2.

Zampella and Ward were later fired by Activision, Infinity Ward’s parent company, but they successfully sued for wrongful termination and received a settlement. The pair then founded Respawn Entertainment, which went on to develop games such as Titanfall, Apex Legends, and Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order. In 2021, Electronic Arts put Zampella in charge of the Battlefield franchise.

Call of Duty Has Become One of the Biggest Video Game Franchises of All Time

With nearly two dozen installments, Call of Duty has become one of the biggest video game franchises of all time, behind only Mario and Tetris. More than 500 million copies of Call of Duty games have been sold, generating over $30 billion.

A big-screen movie based on the franchise has been in development for many years, with the latest attempt currently underway at Paramount Pictures. Yellowstone‘s Taylor Sheridan is developing and producing the project, with Peter Berg on board to direct. Sheridan and Berg will also co-write the script.

Our thoughts and condolences go out to Zampella’s family and friends. A true giant in the gaming industry gone too soon.

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