'The Only Reason Call of Duty Exists Is Because EA Were Dicks,' Battlefield Boss Vince Zampella Says

Battlefield brag Vince Zampella has said that Activision's best-selling Call of Duty franchise lone exists "because EA were dicks."

It's an eye-opening but typically frank connection from Zampella, who is of people present an EA worker himself erstwhile again.

Over his career, Zampella has ping-ponged betwixt rival publishers EA and Activision, moving archetypal connected EA's Medal of Honor series, past founding Infinity Ward and helping make Call of Duty — specifically truthful it could beryllium Activision's Medal of Honor "killer" — earlier returning backmost to EA aft helping make Titanfall and Apex Legends astatine Respawn.

"The lone crushed that Call of Duty exists is due to the fact that EA were dicks," Zampella told GQ, reflecting connected his career.

Zampella initially worked connected EA's Medal of Honor franchise from 1999 to 2002, and served arsenic pb decorator connected the celebrated Medal of Honor: Allied Assault. After this, Zampella co-founded his ain studio, Infinity Ward, with archetypal plans to proceed moving connected Medal of Honor near up successful the aerial erstwhile EA decided to instrumentality improvement of its franchise in-house.

"For ineligible reasons I volition accidental things didn't spell arsenic planned with it," erstwhile Infinity Ward creator Justin Thomas antecedently revealed of the concern successful an MCV interview, backmost successful 2013. "We were near successful a concern of unpaid milestones that were delivered and nary finances to run on."

It was astatine this constituent that Activision answered a last-ditch telephone by Infinity Ward, intrigued by the imaginable of moving with the squad down Medal of Honor: Allied Assault, and driven by the thought of creating a caller franchise that could topple EA's own.

The rest, arsenic they say, is history. Call of Duty became a behemoth, though Activision and Zampella parted ways pursuing the motorboat of 2009's Modern Warfare 2, prompting a bitter ineligible feud implicit unpaid bonuses and royalties that dragged connected for years (until Zampella yet earned a sizable payout).

That concern past led to Zampella co-founding Titanfall and Apex Legends developer Respawn, which EA partnered with past yet acquired. Zampella was past repeatedly promoted to look aft much of EA's gaming portfolio, yet becoming brag of the embattled Battlefield franchise, turning its fortunes astir to present this month's palmy merchandise of Battlefield 6.

GQ's interrogation besides includes a snippet connected the now-distant plans for Alien manager Ridley Scott to nonstop a Call of Duty movie, thing which yet ne'er came to pass.

"Ridley Scott came successful 1 clip – who's a leader of excavation – but he's not connected to games, truthful he'd inquire these questions like, ‘How bash you publication what happens?’" Zampella recalled. "There was a spot of a speech astir him doing a Call of Duty film, but we ne'er truly took it seriously. Video crippled movies astatine that constituent were ne'er truly that good."

Battlefield 6 launched past week and earned EA its best-ever crippled motorboat connected Steam, beating that of Apex Legends. For more, cheque retired IGN's Battlefield 6 multiplayer reappraisal successful progress, our Battlefield 6 run review, and what to expect from Battlefield Season 1.

Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images for EA Entertainment.

Tom Phillips is IGN's News Editor. You tin scope Tom astatine [email protected] oregon find him connected Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social