I’ve played Call of Duty for a long time — long enough that it stopped being just a game and became a constant.

It was there during late nights when sleep didn’t come easily. During hard seasons when distraction felt like relief. Over time, it became something familiar to return to, and eventually, a place where I made friends I couldn’t imagine my life without now.

Hearing about Vince Zampella’s passing was genuinely sad. As a co-creator of Call of Duty, he helped shape something far bigger than a franchise. He helped build worlds that brought people together — players from different places, different lives, meeting in the same lobbies night after night.

It’s strange how someone you never met can still leave an impact on your life. But games do that. And the people who create them leave behind more than titles and mechanics — they leave behind communities, memories, and moments that carry us through things we don’t always talk about.

I’ll still queue up. I’ll still play with the friends I met along the way. And I’ll do it with gratitude for the people who made those moments possible.

Rest easy.