The video game pioneer behind the hugely popular Call of Duty franchise, Vince Zampella, has died in a car crash in California at the age of 55, gaming giant Electronic Arts has said.
The company confirmed reports on Monday that Zampella had been killed in a car crash the previous day, calling the developer and executive’s death “an unimaginable loss”.
“Vince’s influence on the video game industry was profound and far-reaching,” the statement said.
“A friend, colleague, leader and visionary creator, his work helped shape modern interactive entertainment and inspired millions of players and developers around the world.”
Local broadcaster NBC4 reported that Zampella and a passenger were killed when his Ferrari crashed on Southern California’s scenic Angeles Crest Highway on Sunday afternoon.
“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, without identifying the two victims in the crash.
Footage on social media showed the crash and its aftermath, in which the mangled wreckage of the vehicle was engulfed in flames.
Among a string of successes in the industry, Zampella was best known for cocreating the Call of Duty franchise, which has sold more than half a billion games worldwide and boasts more than 100 million monthly active players.
After starting out in the 1990s as a designer on shooter games, Zampella cofounded the Infinity Ward studio in 2002 and helped launch Call of Duty in 2003, before Activision acquired the studio.
He later left Activision and established Respawn – the studio behind Titanfall, Apex Legends, and the Star Wars Jedi games – in 2010, before it was acquired by Electronic Arts seven years later.
At EA, he took charge of revitalising the Battlefield series, a competitor to Call of Duty, solidifying his status as one of the key figures in modern first-person shooter games. This year, Battlefield 6 set a new sales record for the franchise.
In a statement, Respawn said Zampella was “a titan and legend of this industry, a visionary leader and a force who shaped teams and games … in ways that will be felt for generations”.
“His impact reached far beyond any one game or studio,” it said.
Geoff Keighley, video game journalist and cocreator of The Game Awards, said in a social media post that Zampella was “an extraordinary person”.
Zampella was a “gamer at heart”, he said, but also “a visionary executive with a rare ability to recognise talent and give people the freedom and confidence to create something truly great”.
“While he created some of the most influential games of our time, I always felt he still had his greatest one ahead of him,” said Keighley.
“It’s heartbreaking that we’ll never get to play it.”