Vince Zampella, the co-founder of the video game series Call of Duty, has died aged 55 in a reported car crash.
Mr Zampella most recently worked for the video game franchise Battlefield, which confirmed his death on Instagram, saying the team was heartbroken by their loss.
Local broadcaster NBC4 reported he was killed after crashing his Ferrari while driving on Angeles Crest Highway in the mountains north of Los Angeles.
The Ferrari had just exited a tunnel on the winding road when it hit a concrete barrier and caught fire, killing both Mr Zampella and the passenger, it reported.
California Highway Patrol confirmed the details of the crash, but withheld the names of the deceased.
"It is currently unknown whether alcohol and/or drugs were a factor in this crash," a spokesperson from the highway patrol added.
After starting out in the 1990s as a designer on shooter games, he co-founded the video game developer Infinity Ward in 2002.
In 2003 he helped launch the Call of Duty franchise, which has sold more than half a billion games worldwide.
The first Call of Duty game debuted in 2003 as a World War II simulation, but subsequent versions have delved into modern warfare.
Mr Zampella then founded the video game development studio Respawn Entertainment in 2010.
Respawn Entertainment has created some of the world's best-selling video games, including Titanfall, Apex Legends, and the Star Wars Jedi games.
It was acquired by Electronic Arts in 2017.
At EA, he eventually took charge of revitalising the Battlefield franchise, cementing his reputation as one of the most influential figures in modern first-person shooter games.
In October this year, Mr Zampella thanked the Battlefield community on X for helping them create something they "are all proud to show".
"Keep it coming, our journey together is just getting started," he posted.
After Mr Zampella's death, Battlefield posted a tribute to him on Instagram.
“We are heartbroken by the loss of Vince Zampella, a creative leader whose work shaped generations of players and helped define what modern shooters and action games could be,” it said.
AFP/ ABC
