Video game developer Vince Zampella, the creator of Call of Duty and other billion-dollar gaming franchises, reportedly died Sunday afternoon in a Ferrari crash. According to an NBC4 investigation, the car crash occurred on Southern California’s Angeles Crest Highway. It’s unknown if Zampella was driving at the time or was the passenger, as two people were involved in the fatal car accident. Zampella was 55.
Details about what led to the crash off the winding forest road overlooking Los Angeles and the San Gabriel Valley were not immediately available. A witness provided video of the crash involving a 2026 Ferrari 296 GTS to authorities.
Vince Zampella, the head and co-founder of video game developer Respawn Entertainment, spearheaded successful AAA gaming titles including Call of Duty and Battlefield. The Call of Duty franchise has earned well over $30 billion, with estimates placing total lifetime revenue between $30 and $35 billion as of mid-2025, according to reports. In 2025, Battlefield 6 has generated massive revenue for EA, becoming the year’s top-selling game, selling over 20 million copies and earning an estimated $1.4 billion.
Zampella founded Respawn Entertainment in 2010 with Jason West. The company has since launched games like Titanfall and Titanfall 2, Apex Legends, and the Star Wars Jedi series. Before that, Zampella was a lead at Call of Duty: Modern Warfare maker Infinity Ward. EA acquired Respawn in 2017, and Zampella has been its CEO since.
While the reports emerged shortly before the stock market closed, Zampella’s death is expected to hit the gaming industry stock market. EA stock fell a fraction of a percent on Monday, as did Activision Blizzard, the parent company of Infinity Ward.