Vince Zampella, Co-Creator of Call of Duty and Battlefield Leader, Dies in Car Accident

On Sunday, Vince Zampella, the executive vice president at EA and head of Respawn, tragically lost his life in a car accident in Southern California.

Reports surfaced on Monday detailing that Zampella was involved in a single-car crash with a 2026 Ferrari 296 GTS on December 21 at 12:45 PM local time, on a road north of Los Angeles in the San Gabriel Mountains. According to the California Highway Patrol, the vehicle veered off the road and struck a concrete barrier. The passenger was ejected from the car, while Zampella was reportedly trapped in the vehicle as it caught fire, leading to his death at the scene. The passenger later succumbed to injuries at a nearby hospital.

Details surrounding the cause of the crash remain unclear, and it has not been confirmed whether Zampella was driving at the time. An inquiry has been made to EA for further information.

“It’s hard to process this right now. He was such a force in the industry, and for him to be just gone, I still can’t believe it,” shared Respawn developer Patrick Wren on social media.

“I was fortunate enough to work with Vince a few times, and it was always a pleasure. This sucks,” posted former Xbox operations manager Eric Neustadter.

At 55, Zampella was instrumental in the creation of the Call of Duty franchise. He later co-founded Respawn in 2010 alongside fellow developer Jason West. The studio debuted with the critically acclaimed Titanfall, which was exclusive to Xbox and published by EA. They followed up with a sequel, a popular battle royale spin-off, and two successful Star Wars titles, Jedi: Fallen Order and Jedi: Survivor. Respawn was acquired by EA in 2017, becoming a vital part of the publisher’s lineup. In 2021, Zampella took the reins of the Battlefield series, contributing to its resurgence with this year’s highly successful Battlefield 6, one of the standout titles of 2025. Meanwhile, Call of Duty remains one of the largest gaming franchises globally.