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Vince Zampella, video game pioneer behind
Call of Duty, dies at 55
[December 23, 2025]
Vince Zampella, one of the creators behind bestselling video
games such as Call of Duty, has died. He was 55.
Video game company Electronic Arts said Zampella died Sunday. The
company did not disclose his cause of death.
In 2010, Zampella founded Respawn Entertainment, a subsidiary of EA, and
he also was the former chief executive of video game developer Infinity
Ward, the studio behind the successful Call of Duty franchise. |
Three versions of Activision's Call Of Duty games are seen on sale at
Best Buy in Mountain View, Calif., Wednesday, Aug. 3, 2011. Vincent
Zampella, one of the creators behind such best-selling video games "Call
of Duty," has died at 55. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma,File) |
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A
spokesperson for Electronic Arts said in a statement on Monday
that Zampella's influence on the video game industry was
“profound and far-reaching."
“A friend, colleague, leader and visionary creator, his work
helped shape modern interactive entertainment and inspired
millions of players and developers around the world," the
statement said. “His legacy will continue to shape how games are
made and how players connect for generations to come.”
One of Zampella's crowning achievements was the creation of the
Call of Duty franchise, which has sold more than half a billion
games worldwide,
The first-person shooter game debuted in 2003 as a World War II
simulation and has sold over 500 million copies globally.
Subsequent versions have delved into modern warfare and there is
a live-action movie based on the game in production with
Paramount Pictures.
In recent years, Zampella was at the helm of the creation of the
action adventure video games Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order and
Star Wars Jedi: Survivor.
Geoff Keighley, video game journalist and co-creator of The Game
Awards, said he was shocked to hear of Zampella's sudden death.
“Vince was an extraordinary person — a gamer at heart, but also
a visionary executive with a rare ability to recognize talent
and give people the freedom and confidence to create something
truly great,” Keighley wrote on social media on Monday. “And
while he created some of the most influential games of our time,
I always felt he still had his greatest one ahead of him. It’s
heartbreaking that we’ll never get to play it."
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