Vince Zampella, the acclaimed co-creator of the video gaming juggernaut Call of Duty, has died in a car crash, US media reported on Monday.
According to local broadcaster NBC4, the 55-year-old developer and executive died on Sunday while driving his Ferrari on a scenic road north of Los Angeles. His studios created some of the world’s bestselling video games.
Zampella was best known for co-creating the Call of Duty franchise and founding Respawn Entertainment, the studio behind Titanfall, Apex Legends and the Star Wars Jedi games.
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After starting out in the 1990s as a designer on shooter games, he co-founded Infinity Ward in 2002 and helped launch Call of Duty in 2003. Activision later acquired his studio.
Zampella left Activision under contentious circumstances and established Respawn in 2010, which Electronic Arts acquired in 2017.
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At EA, he eventually took charge of revitalising the Battlefield franchise, cementing his reputation as one of the most influential figures in modern first-person shooter games.