Call of Duty creator Vince Zampella killed in car crash

Vince Zampella, the creator of the video game Call of Duty, has been killed in a car crash in Southern California. 

Zampella, 55, was travelling along a scenic road in the San Gabriel Mountains - north of Los Angeles - on Sunday afternoon when the vehicle he was in veered off the road and hit a concrete barrier, KNBC reported.

The car became engulfed in flames and trapped the driver, who died at the scene. A passenger was ejected from the vehicle and died at a nearby hospital.

The circumstances surrounding the crash remain under investigation. It is unclear at this time if Zampella was the driver or passenger.

The multimillionaire video game tycoon is the head of Respawn Entertainment, which he co-founded in 2010.

The studio was acquired by EA seven years later and is best known for its games Titanfall, Titanfall 2, Apex Legends and STAR WARS Jedi: Fallen Order.

Before launching Respawn, he served as the CEO of Infinity Ward, the studio that created the Call of Duty franchise.

He spearheaded the creation of the first-person shooter game after having worked as a designer on the Medal of Honor series in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

Zampella leaves behind three children, whom he shared with his former wife Brigitte.

The couple divorced in 2015 after 18 years of marriage. Brigitte cited irreconcilable differences as the reason behind their split.

Zampella amassed an estimated $40 million fortune, according to Celebrity Net Worth, throughout his storied career.

He served as the studio head and CEO at Infinity Ward from 2002 to 2010, during which he helped create Call of Duty.

He and his business partner Jason West were fired in 2010 for 'breaches of contract and insubordination' over alleged illegal dealings with rival Electronic Arts.

The pair went on to co-found Respawn and received a substantial payout for ownership rights of Call of Duty after filing a $125 million lawsuit. 

The suit was settled in 2013 for an undisclosed sum.

The two had also received millions of dollars in royalties for creating Call of Duty games in the years prior to being terminated by Activision.

In 2021, Zampella became the Head of Battlefield at EA and helped create Battlefield 6, the latest installment in the Battlefield series. 

Battlefield 6 is the best-selling game of 2025 and has allegedly sold over 20 million copies since its release in October, the latest Circana data showed.

The game's biggest competitor - Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 - was the best selling game last month after being released on November 14, but only ranked seventh overall for 2025.

Zampella, in an interview with GQ ahead of Battlefield 6's release, revealed that he and his Infinity Ward team only released Call of Duty after a fallout with EA.

'The only reason exists is because EA were d***s,' he said. At the time of the alleged conflict he had been overseeing EA's Medal of Honor franchise.

He didn't provide details about the conflict with the company, but noted that they eventually formed a lucrative partnership with Activision - which created the game.

He also credited Steve Spielberg for being 'deeply involved' in the early development of the Medal of Honor franchise.

Zampella and Spielberg worked closely on the Medal of Honor series and the award winning filmmaker reportedly wanted to direct a Call of Duty movie.

Paramount signed a deal with Activision for a Call of Duty movie in September.

The film will be directed by Lone Survivor director Peter Berg and written by Yellowstone writer Taylor Sheridan.

This is a breaking news story.  Check back for updates.