Respawn Entertainment founder and Call of Duty creator dies in California car crash
The video game developer behind some of the world’s highest-selling franchises has died in a crash on a Californian highway.
NBC Los Angeles is reporting Vince Zampella was killed in a single-vehicle Ferrari crash on Sunday afternoon (local time) while travelling on Southern California’s Angeles Crest Highway.
Vince Zampella has died in a fiery car crash.Credit: Getty
The 55-year-old Zampella was the head of Respawn Entertainment, a studio he founded in 2010 that was acquired by EA in 2017 and is behind games such as Titanfall, Titanfall 2, Apex Legends and Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order.
Previously, Zampella was head of Infinity Ward, which he also helped found and which created the Call of Duty franchise. He left the company when it was acquired by Activision in 2010.
NBC reported that the crash occurred at about 12.45pm Sunday (Monday morning AEDT) when the car veered off the road and hit a concrete barrier. The passenger was thrown from the car and later died in hospital.
Zampella was trapped in the vehicle when it burst into flames and died at the scene, the outlet reported, citing the California Highway Patrol.
It is unknown who the passenger was or what led to the crash, which occurred on what NBC described as a winding forest road overlooking Los Angeles and the San Gabriel Valley. However the network said a witness has provided video of a crash involving a 2026 Ferrari 296 GTS to authorities.
Respawn parent company EA said in a statement to Kotaku that Zampella’s death was an “unimaginable loss”.
“Vince’s influence on the video game industry was profound and far-reaching,” EA said.
