Call of Duty co-creator Vince Zampella dies aged 55 in car crash

LOS ANGELES: Vince Zampella, the co-creator of the Call of Duty video game franchise, has died aged 55, according to NBC Los Angeles.

The head of video game developer Respawn Entertainment and a co-founder of Infinity Ward was killed in a single-car crash on California’s Angeles Crest Highway, the report said. The accident was logged with the California highway patrol at 12.45 pm on Sunday. The driver died at the scene, while a passenger later died in hospital.

Zampella was one of the most influential figures in modern video gaming. At Infinity Ward, which he co-founded in 2002 with grant collier and jason west, he helped create Call of Duty and oversaw some of its most acclaimed titles, including Modern Warfare (2007) and Modern Warfare 2 (2009). The franchise has sold more than 500 million copies worldwide.

After leaving Infinity Ward, Zampella founded Respawn Entertainment in 2010 under EA, producing the Titanfall series and the hugely popular multiplayer title Apex Legends. Most recently, he had been promoted to head of EA’s Battlefield franchise, with Battlefield 6 released in October to strong critical response.