NBC reports that Vince Zampella, co-founder of Call of Duty studio Infinity Ward and head of Respawn and Ripple Effect at Electronic Arts, has died. Zampella was killed on Sunday after his car veered off the road in the San Gabriel Mountains north of Los Angeles and struck a concrete barrier. Another occupant of the car was also killed in the crash.
Zampella, one of the best known figures in the videogame industry, found early success at 2015 Inc, serving as the lead designer of Medal of Honor: Allied Assault. He co-founded Infinity Ward with Grant Collier and Jason West in 2002, where they created Call of Duty, which quickly became one of the biggest series in the game industry.
Zampella told Gamasutra (via the Wayback Machine) in 2011 that the nature of his split with Activision, sparked by a contract dispute, played a central role in the decision to found Respawn. “In my opinion, the deal we had [with Activision]—had it been honored—was a great deal. But you need control, ” Zampella said. “If you want people to be invested, you have to put something into it. It’s an industry that demands that you put a lot of yourself into it; it’s creative, it’s driven by what you’re going to put into it, the end product.
