The report says the announcement included imagery resembling a fictional football crest. On its own, that is not proof. Combined with the studio build, though, it gives the move more weight.
That matters because football is not an easy genre to enter casually. Annual releases, live-service expectations, licensing demands and a demanding online player base make it one of the hardest sports spaces to crack.
The strongest clue may be the people involved. The report says senior staff at the new studio include developers with backgrounds on the old series, including studio head Aaron McHardy.
That is significant for one reason: football games are built on specialist knowledge.
A newcomer can buy tech. It cannot shortcut institutional knowledge. If 2K is serious, this is the kind of hiring pattern you would expect.
Even if football is the target, challenging EA Sports FC is not just about making a good game. It is about licenses, authenticity, community trust and building a long-term rhythm players will stick with. eFootball has already shown how difficult it is to dislodge an incumbent, even for a major publisher.
The next clue will be simple: whether 2K starts talking openly about football, clubs and licenses. Until then, this is a rumour worth tracking closely - because if a genuine new contender is forming, the next release cycle could look very different.