Vince Zampella, video game pioneer behind 'Call of Duty,' dies in car crash: Video of the tragic incident surfaces; what led to the crash?

Vince Zampella, video game developer and one of the creators behind best-selling video games such as “Call of Duty,” died in a car crash on Sunday afternoon (December 21, 2025). He was 55. The news of Zampella’s death was first confirmed by video game company Electronic Arts.

The single-car crash occurred at about 12:45 PM on Southern California's Angeles Crest Highway, as reported by NBC4. The southbound Ferrari veered off the road just after exiting a tunnel on the road north of Los Angeles in the San Gabriel Mountains and hit a concrete barrier, and a passenger was ejected, according to the California Highway Patrol (CHP).

The CHP confirmed that the driver, Zampella, was trapped in the ensuing car fire. He died at the scene, and the passenger died at a hospital, authorities told NBC4. Details about the passenger's identity and what led to the crash were not immediately available.

Video of the car crash surfaces

Multiple X users shared a purported video of the crash. The video provided to authorities by a witness showed that the car involved in the crash was a 2026 Ferrari 296 GTS.




The vehicle slammed into the barrier just after exiting the tunnel. The six-figure, mid-engine sports car powered by a hybrid twin-turbo V-6 is capable of 819-plus horsepower.

Vince Zampella’s contribution to the video game industry

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. 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 has been at the helm of the creation of the action-adventure video games Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order and Star Wars Jedi: Survivor.