Vince Zampella, the head and co-founder of Apex Legends studio Respawn Entertainment and the group general manager for EA Studios, has reportedly been killed in a car crash, according to Los Angeles NBC affiliate NBC4. Zampella was 55.
Zampella’s nearly 30-year career in the video game industry included the founding of Infinity Ward in 2002, where he oversaw the creation and explosive growth of the Call of Duty franchise; and the founding of Respawn Entertainment, maker of Apex Legends, and the Titanfall and Star Wars Jedi series. Based on his studios’ success in AAA shooter games, Zampella took over Electronic Arts’ Battlefield franchise in 2021, a decision which this year resulted in developer DICE and Battlefield Studios launching the biggest game in the series to date, Battlefield 6.
Prior to his work on Call of Duty and the Titanfall franchise, Zampella worked at 2015 Inc., which developed Medal of Honor: Allied Assault for EA. The members of that team went on to form Infinity Ward under co-founders Zampella, Jason West, and Grant Collier, which then started working on the Call of Duty franchise. Infinity Ward delivered the original Call of Duty, a realistic World War II shooter, in 2003. During his time at Infinity Ward, Zampella served as studio head, chief creative officer, and producer on a number of Call of Duty sequels, including the highly influential Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, which pushed the franchise forward into a modern military setting.
Zampella and West were later fired by Activision, and the founders sued their publisher over unpaid earnings, seeking a billion dollars in restitution. The Infinity Ward founders and Activision eventually settled.
After Infinity Ward, Zampella and West formed Respawn Entertainment in 2010, developing the shooters Titanfall, Titanfall 2, and Apex Legends, and action-adventure games Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order and Star Wars Jedi: Survivor. Based on his proven track record, EA tasked Zampella with turning around the flagging Battlefield franchise after the soft launch of Battlefield 2042.
Zampella was reportedly killed in a car crash north of Los Angeles in the San Gabriel Mountains, along with another person in the vehicle.
Polygon has reached out to Electronic Arts for confirmation and comment on the death of Vince Zampella, and will update this story when the company responds.
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