One of the men behind some of the biggest video game franchises was killed in a car crash.
Vince Zampella was 55 years old.
Zampella’s death was announced by Electronic Arts, which did not say how he died, The Associated Press reported.
However, KNBC reported that he was in a 2026 Ferrari 296 GTS, which slammed into a barrier after it came out of a tunnel on a winding road overlooking Los Angeles on Dec. 21. It is not known what caused the crash. He was driving the car and was trapped in the vehicle when it caught fire, California Highway Patrol said. He died at the scene.
A passenger in the car was ejected in the crash and died at a hospital, KNBC reported.
Zampella was a co-founder of Respawn Entertainment, which developed “Titanfall,” “Apex Legends” and “Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order.”
He was also the former chief executive of Infinity Ward, which produced the “Call of Duty” franchise. “Call of Duty” and its follow-up games have sold more than half a billion copies globally.
“A friend, colleague, leader and visionary creator, his work helped shape modern interactive entertainment and inspired millions of players and developers around the world,” Electronic Arts said in a statement to the AP. “His legacy will continue to shape how games are made and how players connect for generations to come.”
The Washington Post’s video game critic, Gene Park, said of Zampella, “He really knew how to create stories and create experiences that really hit at the heart of the human experience, whether it’s terror, dread, heroism. I think he was really able to kind of encapsulate that through the designs of the video games he made,” KNBC reported.
Zampella attended Broward Community College before leaving school and working in the video game industry, first at GameTek on games such as Wheel of Fortune.
He jumped over to Atari and helped launch its PC division and worked on games like NBA Jam and Supercross 3D, The Washington Post reported.
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