Zampella (জাম্পেলা) was born on October 1, 1970. After his "unsuccessful" enrollment at Broward College in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Zampella worked as a handyman. A friend helped him get a job at a local game company, where he answered phones and tested game releases. In a 1997 interview with Gamezilla, Zampella said he "started out in graphic design and digital video at GameTek, then went to Atari to help launch its PC division" sometime before 1997. He also worked at Panasonic Interactive Media/Ripcord Games and SegaSoft, where he met Jason West, with whom he later founded Infinity Ward along with Grant Collier.

In September 1999, Zampella moved from Silicon Valley to work for 2015 Inc. in Tulsa, Oklahoma. By 2001, he was director of development of 2015 Inc.] He worked there through 2002; during that time he was credited as the lead designer for the critically acclaimed Medal of Honor: Allied Assault. He continued on further Medal of Honor work.

Shortly after Infinity Ward's creation, Electronic Arts decided to move Medal of Honor development in-house, and Infinity Ward took a deal with Activision to create a new game, codenamed "MOH Killer". "MOH Killer" became Call of Duty, and Activision acquired Infinity Ward shortly after the game's release. At the same time, Zampella and fellow IW employee Jason West signed long-term employment contracts with Activision. Under Zampella's and West's leadership, Infinity Ward released Call of Duty 2, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2.

Months after the successful release of Modern Warfare 2, Zampella and Jason West were fired by Activision and denied "$36 million in bonuses and royalties they'd been expecting". The pair sued Activision for wrongful termination that week and founded Respawn Entertainment a month later. During the years-long Activision suit, Zampella and West demanded $1 billion in damages from Activision, up from the initial $36 million. Other former IW employees joined the suit. Activision eventually paid the other ex-IW employees $42 million, and paid West and Zampella "a settlement thought to be in the tens of millions of dollars".

After founding Respawn in April 2010, West and Zampella signed with Electronic Arts for the release of their next game. West left Respawn in March 2013. The studio released two Titanfall games and then was acquired by EA in November 2017. Under EA, the studio released Apex Legends, Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, and Star Wars Jedi: Survivor. In January 2020, EA announced that Zampella would lead the Los Angeles branch of DICE. In 2021, EA put Zampella in charge of the Battlefield franchise after the "challenging" launch of Battlefield 2042 and the departure of Oskar Gabrielson, general manager of DICE. DICE LA was renamed Ripple Effect Studios in July 2021.

In a 2001 interview, Zampella said that he has "always been an avid computer user and gamer". At the time he was a casual Counter-Strike player. According to TMZ, Zampella's wife Brigitte filed for divorce in 2015. At the time it was reported that they have three children.

On December 21, 2025, Zampella died when the 2022 Ferrari 296 GTS he was driving veered off the road and struck a concrete barrier at high speed after exiting a tunnel on the Angeles Crest Highway in the San Gabriel Mountains, north of Los Angeles. The vehicle then caught on fire. A passenger in the vehicle was ejected and also died. Zampella was 55.

Electronic Arts released a statement calling Zampella "a friend, colleague, leader and visionary creator" whose influence on the video game industry was "profound and far-reaching." The Twitter accounts for Battlefield, Respawn, and Apex Legends posted statements honoring Zampella.