Vince Zampella leaves behind a staggering body of work in the gaming industry, spanning Medal of Honor to Battlefield, Call of Duty to Titanfall, and a great deal more. But beyond the pixels, he’ll be remembered as a juggernaut behind the scenes, a force of will refusing to settle no matter the accolades that piled up.
Speaking with Vince, you wouldn’t know you were conversing with someone special. Shooting the breeze about Star Wars on Disney+, it was like chatting with a lifelong friend. Remarking on the state of the gaming industry, there was never any ego or God complex, just a humble back and forth among peers.
Yet, in 55 years, he achieved more than many of us could hope for in multiple lifetimes. His leadership impacted hundreds, if not thousands of lives across various studios, while the output of his teams shaped the entertainment industry and broader pop culture, impacting countless millions as a result.
You’d never know that engaging with him directly, though. Vince wasn’t the type to wear his accomplishments with pride. Rather, it was always a matter of fixating on the next thing.
Even when speaking about Vince with other notable figures in the industry, many have reached the same consensus. He’d made his fortune, but more than that, he’d changed the world and left a lasting legacy. So why keep going? Why continue to seek out new challenges in extremely high-pressure roles? Well, Vince was a different beast to you and I.
Storming the beach
With half a dozen smaller projects under his belt, Zampella’s first big break arrived when none other than Steven Spielberg came knocking. On the back of Saving Private Ryan, the legendary director thought to make a WWII game. That’s where 2015, Inc., a small yet mighty American game development team, came into the picture.
As Development Director on the project, Zampella helped lead the ragtag crew of mostly young FPS modders to deliver what’s largely considered among the best Medal of Honor games.
Storming Omaha Beach on D-Day was revelatory in 2002’s Allied Assault. Today, it’s remembered as one of the most iconic moments in any FPS. But of course, that was just one part of the package.
Medal of Honor: Allied Assault became such a force, in fact, Spielberg wasn’t the only one knocking on Zampella and co.’s door. After some disputes with Medal of Honor publisher EA, the team left for rival company Activision, where they would establish one of the biggest franchises in gaming history.
The Medal of Honor killer
An unstoppable behemoth was realized in 2003 when the first Call of Duty game hit store shelves. The authentic WWII shooter from a team now known as Infinity Ward started with the goal of effectively ‘sticking it’ to EA. The ‘Medal of Honor killer,’ it was rumored to be called behind closed doors.
Well, not only did it tick that box, but it spawned one of the most significant gaming franchises to date. Evolving from WWII to Modern Warfare only further expanded its reach, blossoming into a cultural phenomenon without compare. For our money, it’s still the very best shooter ever made.
In the years that followed, anytime a new Call of Duty rolled out, the industry braced for impact as sales records were obliterated time and again. 2009’s Modern Warfare 2 raked in over half a billion dollars within its first week, making it the biggest entertainment launch in history, at the time.
Zampella, then Studio Head, was certainly a driving force behind CoD’s success at its peak of popularity. However, soon after, he was unceremoniously fired from his position and denied a reported $36 million in bonuses. Alongside CoD Director Jason West, the two sued Activision before rapidly turning to their next endeavor. No rest for the wicked.
Ejecting into the next big hits
Within a matter of weeks, Zampella and West opened Respawn Entertainment – another name that has a well and truly cemented legacy today. What could come next after jumping from one critically acclaimed and commercial smash-hit to another?
Not hesitating, Zampella and his recruits immediately began toiling away on the next evolution of what a shooter can be. The end result gave us two Titanfall games – pairing frenetic run and gun action with destructive mechs you dynamically call into the fight– along with Apex Legends, a pioneering Battle Royale still enjoyed by millions to this day.
To say the California native had his finger on the pulse of the industry wouldn’t quite be accurate. In a sense, he had a knack for knowing what audiences would take to, long before we knew it ourselves.
Going from one epochal shooter to another is no mere coincidence. As those who worked closely with Zampella will tell you, he had a clarity of vision, and that was reflected in his communication, a trait that enabled developers of all disciplines to put forward their best work. He knew what he wanted, and he knew how to help teams get over the line.
This was none more prominent than when his relatively new studio pivoted to tackle a different type of game with one of the biggest IPs in the world.
A different perspective, far, far away
Just a few years after opening its doors in Los Angeles, Respawn Entertainment inked a deal to create an original Star Wars game. Entirely different from the usual first-person experiences revolving around gunplay, this game would shift to a third-person perspective and, naturally, focus on lightsaber duels.
Rallying a team around God of War III Creative Director Stig Asmussen, Zampella’s crew delivered Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, one of the best Star Wars games in years. It’s since become a franchise in its own right, with Survivor following in 2023, and a third entry now believed to be in the works.
Far from ‘just another Star Wars game,’ the Jedi series has already made a lasting impression. Protagonist Cal Kestis has appeared in other Star Wars media (with fans begging for a live-action appearance), and his lightsaber is sold at Galaxy’s Edge in Disneyland.
For the common folk, we’d surely feel content at this stage. Decades of work steering blockbusters with ever-ballooning budgets and team sizes. An unmistakable cultural impact, not to mention a healthy fortune in the bank. For Zampella, like his favorite hobby of racing cars, there was no slowing down here.
An irrefutable reminder
Proving himself once more, Zampella jumped at the opportunity to round out the ‘holy trinity’ of FPS games. From Medal of Honor to Call of Duty, in 2021, he was then handed the keys to the Battlefield kingdom.
EA – yes, that same EA he once parted ways with and sought to ‘kill’ their FPS franchise – put him in charge of the entire Battlefield franchise. Zampella was to call the shots and mould the once-great-now-waning military simulator.
Lassooing DICE, Criterion Games, Motive Studios, and Ripple Effect Studios, with employees numbering in the thousands and a budget reportedly north of $400 million, Zampella again proved why he was one of one. Clearly declaring his plans from the jump, it took just four years for this globe-spanning workforce to breathe new life into the beloved series.
Battlefield 6 launched earlier this year, restoring the shooter’s image in one of the most expansive offerings to date. It sold over seven million copies in three days, making it the most successful launch in Battlefield history. It’s had an indelible impact on this year’s Call of Duty release, Black Ops 7, as well.
You got the sense Zampella knew this was all coming, too. Taking the stage in LA at the multiplayer reveal event, he wasn’t just introducing the next era of Battlefield. No. It was “Battlefield f***ing 6!” as he passionately yelled.
Of course, there’s an army of game developers to attribute to all of these projects from over the years, many of which will never get the proper credit they deserve. But steering the ship, pointing them all in the right direction, and enabling them to push the envelope in record-shattering ways, was Zampella.
Yet through it all, he remained true to himself. Speaking with Zampella at the height of a project’s most stressful period, it wouldn’t show. He appeared to enjoy the unique pressure that came with overseeing many of the biggest games in the industry, an intensity few of us could wrangle with.
His remarkable career is not one that will soon be replicated. His shoes can never quite be filled. Those who worked at his side will struggle to find a leader equally as driven. Zampella was a different beast to you and I.
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