Call of Duty has been such a staple of gaming that it’s hard to imagine a time when it wasn’t a household name. But way before its yearly release cycle kicked in and modern and futuristic settings became CoD’s bread and butter, even before the franchise made its debut and was largely about simulating World War II battles, there was Medal of Honor. And according to EA’s Vince Zampella (Battlefield, Titanfall, Apex Legends), Activision brought CoD into existence to put Medal of Honor in its crosshairs. Mission accomplished.
“The only reason Call of Duty exists is because EA were dicks,” Zampella said in an interview with GQ (h/t IGN). An FPS OG, Zampella was the lead designer of Medal of Honor: Allied Assault, and would go on to co-found Infinity Ward.
In what sounds like a dispatch from an alternate universe, Infinity Ward was originally hoping to create more Medal of Honor games. That didn’t happen. EA decided to be “dicks,” and chose to handle things on its own with Medal of Honor (that wouldn’t end up working out well). At the time, Infinity Ward, now without its franchise of choice in its grasp, pivoted to pitching Activision on a new historical shooter, Call of Duty.
Zampella would later join EA, creating Titanfall and Apex Legends in his role at Respawn Entertainment. He’s now in charge of Battlefield, which is celebrating its sixth mainline release.