Levine gets ‘more creative control’ in new Take-Two deal?

A story in the New York Post has followed up on previous reports about 2K Boston’s Ken Levine renegotiating his employment contract with publisher Take-Two, saying he is close to signing a deal which will give him more creative freedom going forward.

In June, Variety said that Levine was consulting LA agency CAA on hoe he could go about getting a new deal with Take-Two after the huge success of his studio’s BioShock last year.

Now the two are close to reaching an agreement that gives Levine more creative control and helps Take-Two prove to investors it is worth more than EA’s proposed takeover bid values the firm at.

"Renegotiations between Take-Two and Levine are at a delicate stage, but sources close to the talks said the deal would give Levine more creative control over his projects as well as the ability to develop new franchises," says the New York Post.

It’s said the concessions are designed to recompense him for the fact that he won’t have the same salary and bonus as "the two creators of Grand Theft Auto at Rockstar Games" – by which they mean Rockstar chiefs Sam and Dan Houser.

(Who, incidentally, are also rumoured to be getting ready to renegotiate their deal with Take Two once their current on expires in September.)

"Levine delivered a big hit for Take-Two and they want to give him a good deal going forward," says one of the paper’s sources in the report. "But BioShock isn’t ‘Grand Theft Auto.’ It’s not even in the same universe."

Levine could be in line to ‘earn points’ similar to the way Hollywood actors do with movies, based on how well his next games sell at retail.