The cause of death for the creator of the “Call of Duty” video game franchise has been released.
Vince Zampella died of thermal injuries and smoke inhalation, a medical examiner found.
Zampella died in a fiery Ferrari crash in December on Angeles Crest Highway in southern California, KNBC reported.
In addition to the main causes of death, Zampella also had blunt trauma. The manner of death was listed as an accident, Entertainment Weekly reported.
The 2026 296 GTS went off the road just after coming out of a tunnel. The luxury sports car hit a concrete barrier. Zampella was trapped in the car, which burst into flames, and died at the scene. A passenger was ejected from the car and later died at a hospital, KNBC reported.
TMZ reported that investigators have not officially determined a cause of the crash.
Zampella founded the video game company Infinity Ward in 2002 and launched “Call of Duty” as its first game.
The franchise has increased to more than two dozen titles and sales of more than 500 million copies globally, according to Entertainment Weekly.
After founding Infinity Ward, he co-founded Respawn Entertainment, which made games such as “Titanfall” and “Star Wars Jedi,” and has been part of Electronic Arts since 2017.
He was the creative director for “Battlefield 6,” the best-selling game of 2025, according to Circana.
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