2K Unveils Small Axe Studios in Vancouver, Stacked With Ex-EA Sports FC Talent

2K has officially unveiled Small Axe Studios, a brand-new AAA team based in Burnaby, in the heart of Metro Vancouver, tasked with building what the Take-Two-owned publisher is calling its “next blockbuster sports franchise.” The studio is led by Aaron McHardy, a near two-decade EA Sports veteran, and its early roster reads like a who’s-who of former FIFA, Madden and NBA Live developers.

Aaron McHardy Takes the Helm in Burnaby

Aaron McHardy is the Head of Small Axe Studios and an accomplished leader with 21 years of experience in the games industry. Prior to joining 2K, he served as an Executive Producer at Electronic Arts Vancouver, where he led flagship AAA franchises including FIFA (now EA SPORTS FC), Madden, and College Football. According to Soccer Gaming, he joined 2K in March 2023 as Executive Producer and Vice President, and industry trade outlet Game Developer confirms McHardy is leading the team as vice president, executive producer, and studio head following a tenure of almost 18 years across the FIFA, Madden and College Football franchises at EA.

Ex-EA Sports FC and Madden Veterans Round Out the Roster

McHardy is far from the only EA alumnus on the team. Per 2K’s own studio page, Gary Paterson joins as head of design; a 22-year veteran in game design and creative leadership whose background is deeply rooted in AAA sports titles including EA Sports FIFA, FIFA Manager, FIFA Street, and NBA Live, and who most recently served as Studio Design Director at Criterion Games, leading design strategy for the Need for Speed franchise.

Tom Pan takes on operations, bringing 20 years in the games industry, having led AAA development teams from an operations perspective across sports titles at Electronic Arts such as UEFA Champions League, SSX, Tennis, NHL, UFC and FIFA. Technical art leadership falls to John Cruz, a 25-year veteran who previously led technical art teams at Electronic Arts Vancouver, Capcom Vancouver, and Skybox Labs across franchises including FIFA, FIFA Street, NBA Street, Skate and Dead Rising. Game Developer additionally lists head of engineering Mike Thompson among the studio’s senior leadership.

From “2K Sports Lab” to a Full AAA Studio

Small Axe isn’t springing up overnight. Soccer Gaming reports that the 2K Lab project has evolved into Small Axe Studio, a brand-new AAA studio based in Vancouver, Canada. That earlier incarnation had been quietly recruiting for roughly three years, with a Greenhouse job listing noting the operation was founded in 2023 as 2K Sports Lab, the newest stand-alone studio at 2K looking to push game development boundaries to bring 2K’s next groundbreaking sports franchise to life.

A 2K spokesperson quoted by Daily Hive made the studio’s mandate explicit: “As part of our commitment to investing in new IP and growing our sports portfolio, we are thrilled to confirm that Small Axe Studios will endeavor to build 2K’s next blockbuster sports franchise.” The same statement added that “Led by Aaron McHardy, the studio combines the passion of a startup with the scale of 2K to redefine the future of sports video games.”

Right in EA Vancouver’s Backyard

Small Axe’s location carries its own subtext. Daily Hive notes the studio sits in Burnaby, and Soccer Gaming points out EA Sports also has its own studio located in the same city: a detail that hasn’t gone unnoticed among Vancouver’s tight-knit sports-game development community, where several Small Axe hires previously worked side by side at EA’s Burnaby campus before crossing town to a rival publisher.

2K itself frames the studio’s ambitions in similarly bold terms on its own site: “By combining the hunger of a startup with the power of a global gaming giant, we are here to redefine the future of sports video games. To achieve our ambitious goals, we’ve intentionally assembled a world-class team whose passion for sport mirrors the rich diversity and distinctiveness of global fandom.”

Second New 2K Studio in a Year, Amid Layoffs Elsewhere

Small Axe’s launch also lands against a bumpier backdrop inside 2K’s stable of studios. Game Developer notes this is the second new team under the 2K umbrella announced in the last year, after Take-Two hired two key developers from the Perfect Dark reboot back in December 2025 to start a new studio. That expansion has coincided with cuts elsewhere in the portfolio: the same outlet reports an undisclosed number of workers were laid off at 31st Union in May, the team working on the free-to-play shooter Project Ethos, while Visual Concepts, known for its work on games like WWE 2K26, reportedly laid off staff for the third time in three years just days later.

Neither 2K nor Small Axe has confirmed which sport the new studio’s debut project will target, though the concentration of former FIFA and EA Sports FC hands on its leadership team has fuelled plenty of speculation about a football title aimed squarely at EA’s long-running dominance of the genre. For fans in New Zealand and Australia who’ve watched EA Sports FC’s Ultimate Team and career modes evolve largely unchallenged for years, a genuine AAA rival built by people who once shaped that very franchise would be one of the more consequential shake-ups the sports-gaming space has seen in a long while.

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