Vince Zampella, the video game developer who co-founded Infinity Ward and sat as the of Respawn Entertainment and Ripple Effect Studio, has died at 55 years old. Zampella was reportedly killed in a car crash, when his car reportedly veered off the road after exiting a tunnel and hit a concrete barrier.
Who Is Vince Zampella?
While not a household name, Zampella was nevertheless known amongst game developers as the person who co-founded Infinity Ward, the studio owned by Activision and responsible for pushing out the wildly popular Call of Duty franchise. He, and all 22 original team members at the studio, was on the team that made EA’s Medal of Honor: Allied Assault back in the day.
Zampella was fired by Activision after the release of Modern Warfare 2, in which he sued the company for US$1 billion (~RM4.06 billion) in lawsuit, but reached a settlement that is believed to be in the “tens of millions of dollars”. A month after that in 2010, he founded Respawn Entertainment, the studio created the Titanfall series. In 2013, he left the studio.
Then, in 2021, EA hired Zampella and put him in charge of its Battlefield franchise, mainly after the disastrous launch of Battlefield 2042, and the departure of Oskar Gabrielson, general manager of DICE. In that same year, Zampella renamed DICE LA to Ripple Effect Studio, which launched the long-awaited Battlefield 6 earlier this year.
Gone, But Never Forgotten
Infinity Ward, EA, and Respawn Entertainment posted their statements on X, both in honour and memory of Zampella. Infinity Ward said that his “legacy of creating iconic, lasting entertainment is immeasurable.”
This is an unimaginable loss, and our hearts are with Vince’s family, his loved ones, and all those touched by his work. Vince’s influence on the video game industry was profound and far-reaching,” said EA’s post.
“Vince was a titan and legend of this industry, a visionary leader and a force who shaped teams and games like Call of Duty, Titanfall, Apex Legends, the Star Wars Jedi series and Battlefield for our community in ways that will be felt for generations.”
And with that, let us press F to pay our respects.
