Vince Zampella Says Call Of Duty Only Exits Because ‘EA Were D*cks’
The Call of Duty franchise only exists because Electronic Arts “were d*cks,” according to the publisher’s executive vice president, speaking in a chat with GQ.
Discussing the Call of Duty series during the interview, Vince Zampella commented, “The only reason that Call of Duty exists is because EA were dicks,” which links back to his long history with the publisher.
Zampella originally cut his teeth in the shooter genre for EA with Medal of Honour Allied Assault at 2015 Inc, where he worked from 1999 — 2002. Development of the franchise later moved in-house at EA, and Infinity Ward was established by Zampella alongside Grant Collier and Jason West, although the trio were unsatisfied with their contract with EA, and therefore looked to Activision to help set up the studio.
Work then began on the Call of Duty franchise, with Activision helping fund the project in exchange for a 30% stake in Infinity Ward. It later acquired the studio fully in October 2003 after Call of Duty’s release. Despite Infinity Ward launching Call of Duty 2, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 under Zampella’s leadership to huge success, he was fired alongside West by Activision (sparking a massive lawsuit for wrongful termination), and the duo founded Respawn Entertainment in the aftermath.
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West and Zampella inked a deal with EA for the release of their debut title, Titanfall, and followed this up with the release of Titanfall 2. Respawn was snapped up by EA in November 2017, and the publishing giant announced in January 2020 that Zampella had now lead DICE Los Angeles (later renamed Ripple Effect Studios) and in 2021 he was put in charge of the Battlefield franchise.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 is the next instalment in the long-running first-person shooter franchise, due out on PC and consoles in November 2025.
[Source – GQ via Insider Gaming, GamesRadar]
