Back in 2003, Vince Zampella, alongside his co-founders at Infinity Ward, launched the original Call of Duty. This came after their prior work on EA’s Medal of Honor series. The latter never quite achieved the same monumental success as the former, and Zampella reveals that the Call of Duty phenomenon would never have materialized if not for a significant conflict his team had with EA.
In a candid new interview, Zampella minced no words, stating, “The only reason that Call of Duty exists is because EA were dicks.” While he refrained from detailing the specifics of the fallout, this disagreement led his team to forge a highly profitable partnership with Activision, which subsequently acquired Infinity Ward. Zampella eventually moved on from Infinity Ward in 2010 to establish Respawn Entertainment, where he coincidentally re-partnered with EA. Currently, Zampella is overseeing the Battlefront franchise, and this month marks the release of Battlefield 6.
Interestingly, Zampella had a close working relationship with Steven Spielberg during the development of the Medal of Honor games. Years later, Spielberg himself reportedly expressed a desire to direct a Call of Duty movie. Zampella also mentioned that cinematic legend Ridley Scott had shown interest in bringing Call of Duty to the big screen.
Recalling Scott’s interest, Zampella noted, “Ridley Scott came in one time—who’s a hero of mine—but he’s not connected to games.” He explained that Scott’s line of questioning, such as “How do you script what happens?”, highlighted his unfamiliarity with interactive narratives. Although there were preliminary discussions about a Call of Duty film under Scott’s direction, the team didn’t pursue it seriously, primarily because video game adaptations at that time rarely achieved critical or commercial success.
Just last month, Paramount finalized a deal with Activision to produce a Call of Duty movie, with a potential TV series also in development. It remains uncertain whether the Battlefield franchise will garner similar attention from Hollywood studios. However, Battlefield 6 is already making waves with impressive player numbers on Steam, enjoying a relatively clear launch window before the highly anticipated Black Ops 7 arrives on November 14.
For those interested in game rewards, the article originally showcased an image gallery titled “All Battlefield 6 Free Skins And Campaign Rewards.”