Vince Zampella: Call of Duty Exists Because “EA Were Dicks”
▼ Summary
– Vince Zampella and Infinity Ward created Call of Duty in 2003 after previously working on EA’s Medal of Honor franchise.
– Zampella stated that Call of Duty only exists because of a conflict with EA, which led his team to partner with Activision instead.
– Zampella left Infinity Ward in 2010 to form Respawn Entertainment and now oversees the Battlefront franchise, including Battlefield 6.
– Directors Steven Spielberg and Ridley Scott expressed interest in a Call of Duty movie, but Zampella was skeptical due to the poor quality of video game adaptations at the time.
– Paramount recently signed a deal with Activision for a Call of Duty movie and potential TV series, while Battlefield 6 is performing well ahead of Black Ops 7’s release.
The creation of the Call of Duty franchise traces back to a pivotal conflict between its original developers and their former publisher, Electronic Arts. Vince Zampella, co-founder of Infinity Ward, recently revealed that the entire series exists today only because EA’s behavior drove his team to seek a new partnership. After previously guiding the Medal of Honor series for EA, Zampella and his colleagues broke away and launched Call of Duty in 2003 under Activision, which later acquired the studio.
Zampella put it bluntly in a GQ interview, stating, “The only reason that Call of Duty exists is because EA were dicks.” While he did not detail the specific disagreements, the fallout led Infinity Ward to Activision, where Call of Duty grew into one of the most profitable entertainment properties in history. Zampella departed Infinity Ward in 2010 and established Respawn Entertainment, eventually reconnecting with EA. He now oversees the Battlefront series, with the latest installment, Battlefield 6, launching this month.
Before Call of Duty, Zampella collaborated with filmmaker Steven Spielberg on the Medal of Honor titles. Spielberg later expressed interest in directing a Call of Duty film, and legendary director Ridley Scott also explored the idea. Zampella recalled, “Ridley Scott came in one time, who’s a hero of mine, but he’s not connected to games. He’d ask questions like, ‘How do you script what happens?’ There was talk around him doing a Call of Duty film, but we never really took it seriously. Video game movies at that point were never really that good.”
Interest in adapting Call of Duty has since intensified. Last month, Paramount secured a deal with Activision to produce a Call of Duty movie, with a potential television series also in development. It remains uncertain whether the Battlefield series will attract similar Hollywood attention, but Battlefield 6 is already achieving strong sales on Steam. With a significant window before Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 releases on November 14, Battlefield 6 has a clear opportunity to capture the market.
(Source: GameSpot)
