Video game developer Vince Zampella dies in car crash

Vince Zampella, the former chief executive of video game developer Infinity Ward and the head of EA-owned Respawn Entertainment, has died in a crash on Southern California’s Angeles Crest Highway, authorities and local media reported. He was 55. 

The crash was reported at about 12:45pm on Sunday (December 21) on the scenic mountain road in the San Gabriel Mountains north of Los Angeles, according to the California Highway Patrol (CHP). 

The southbound Ferrari veered off the road just after exiting a tunnel, struck a concrete barrier and caught fire, the CHP said. A passenger was ejected from the vehicle, while Zampella was trapped in the blaze and died at the scene; the passenger later died in hospital, officials told NBC4 Investigates. 

The passenger’s identity was not immediately available and the cause of the crash was not immediately known. 

A witness provided video to authorities showing a red 2026 Ferrari 296 GTS slamming into the barrier moments after leaving the tunnel, NBC Los Angeles reported.

The mid-engined model is a plug-in hybrid powered by a twin-turbo V6 and electric motor, producing about 830 cv—roughly 819 horsepower. 

Zampella was widely regarded as a key figure in modern video games and a co-creator of the “Call of Duty” franchise. He co-founded Chatsworth-based Respawn Entertainment in 2010, which was acquired by Electronic Arts in 2017.

Respawn is best known for “Titanfall,” “Titanfall 2,” “Apex Legends” and “Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order,” and Zampella also led an EA studio team based in Playa Vista working on the “Battlefield” franchise. 

Washington Post video game critic Gene Park, who had met Zampella, said he “knew how to create stories and create experiences” that captured emotions such as “terror, dread” and “heroism,” describing him as “a very, very humble person.”