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Small Axe Studios Is Building 2K’s Next Sports Franchise
2K has officially unveiled Small Axe Studios, a new AAA development team in Vancouver, Canada, tasked with creating what the publisher describes as its “next blockbuster sports franchise”. The studio evolved from 2K Sports Lab, an exploratory project established in 2023, and is now being expanded into a full development team.
What sport it is working on remains a mystery, but the people involved have understandably sparked plenty of speculation. At the head of Small Axe Studios is Aaron McHardy, Vice President and Executive Producer, who previously worked at Electronic Arts Vancouver and led major franchises including FIFA, Madden and College Football.
Former FIFA Developers Make Up the Small Axe Leadership Team
McHardy is far from the only EA Sports veteran making the move. Head of Design Gary Paterson has 22 years of experience spanning FIFA, FIFA Manager, FIFA Street and NBA Live, while Head of Operations Tom Pan previously worked across FIFA, NHL, UFC, SSX and several other EA Sports properties.
Head of Engineering Mike Thompson also spent more than two decades in the industry, including technical leadership roles across NHL and UFC. That gives Small Axe considerable sports-game expertise before its first project has even been formally revealed, with 2K clearly assembling a team capable of taking on an established market.
Could 2K Be Preparing an EA Sports FC Rival?
Naturally, much of the immediate speculation is centred around football. Small Axe Studios is based in Vancouver, the same city where EA develops the EA Sports FC series, while several members of its leadership team have extensive experience working on the former FIFA games.
Even the studio’s branding has raised eyebrows, with its bright green crest resembling the type of badge commonly associated with football clubs. Other football-related imagery spotted around the studio has only added to the speculation. None of that confirms Small Axe is developing a football game, however, and 2K has yet to reveal which sport its first title will cover.
It would nevertheless be an intriguing development given 2K’s established presence across basketball, wrestling and golf, while EA Sports FC continues to dominate the football simulation space.
Small Axe Studios Is Keeping Its First Game Secret
For now, Small Axe Studios is only saying that it wants to tackle ambitious challenges and build the next major sports franchise for 2K. McHardy has described the studio’s name as a reflection of that ambition, drawing on the idea that “a small axe can take down a big tree”.
Whether that big tree eventually turns out to be EA Sports FC remains to be seen. With a leadership team containing this much former FIFA talent, though, Small Axe Studios has given football fans plenty of reasons to keep watching.
