In mid 2013, Stardock announced that it had promoted Derek Paxton to succeed Wardell in the running of Stardock Entertainment in order for Wardell to have more time for other projects. These other projects included co-founding new game studios including Oxide Games and Mohawk Games with Soren Johnson.
In 2013, he and Soren Johnson cofounded Mohawk Games to develop strategy games. Their first video game was Offworld Trading Company.