Battlefield boss Vince Zampella claims that Call of Duty was born out of Electronic Arts’ arrogance — a decision that changed the course of gaming history.
Back in 2002, Medal of Honor: Allied Assault became a massive hit, thanks to its cinematic portrayal of World War II and the D-Day landing at Omaha Beach. The game earned “Action Game of the Year” and was considered a must-play title. Developed by 2015, Inc., it set new standards for realism and immersion. However, instead of allowing the team to continue with the sequel, Electronic Arts decided to take development in-house — a decision that would have far-reaching consequences.
Feeling sidelined, a portion of the 2015 team, including Vince Zampella — who served as the development director of Allied Assault — left for Activision, where they founded Infinity Ward and went on to create Call of Duty. As Zampella recently told GQ Magazine, “The only reason Call of Duty exists is because EA were d**ks.” If Electronic Arts had kept the team, 2015 would likely have continued developing the Medal of Honor franchise — and Call of Duty as we know it might never have existed.
The first Call of Duty was heavily inspired by Allied Assault. Its cinematic influences shifted from Saving Private Ryan to Enemy at the Gates, even recreating one of its iconic sniper sequences. The biggest innovation was the introduction of multiple playable protagonists, giving players different perspectives on the war — a storytelling device that became a hallmark of the franchise. In another timeline, this could have easily been Medal of Honor 4, cementing that series as the dominant FPS instead of Call of Duty.
The story resurfaced because Zampella has now returned to the World War II frontlines — this time as the head of the Battlefield franchise at Electronic Arts. Battlefield 6 recently peaked at 747,000 concurrent players on Steam, entering the platform’s all-time top 20. Ironically, the man whose career began with EA’s biggest rival is now leading EA’s own flagship shooter.
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