Levine contract could include royalties from BioShock sequels

by Ross Miller { Jul 10th 2008 at 4:55PM }

Ken Levine may be entering the upper echelon of game designers. According to a source from The New York Post, the BioShock creator is renegotiating his contract with Take-Two to allow more creative control over his projects and – this is the key – royalties (here called "points") "based on how much business the next installment of 'BioShock' and any other games that he develops produce."

Given we don't know exactly to what extent Levine will be working on BioShock sequels, if at all, it's pretty interesting to hear that Levine could be given royalties for a creating a concept, even without working on a project directly. As noted by Variety, we'd only imagine a few notable game icons with this much weight (e.g. Sid Meier, Will Wright).

This is all rumor at the moment, as neither Take Two's people or Levine's people are talking, but we're watching the re-negotiating (as are apparently the tabloids) closely.

[Via The Cut Scene]

Tags: bioshock, bioshock-2, ken-levine, take-two

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Bucfann @ Jul 10th 2008 5:21PM

Joystiq, let me help you with the "File Under:" since you forgot to add it to this post.

File Under: Who Gives A Shit

phobic99 @ Jul 10th 2008 5:37PM

Don't even trip.

Jakka @ Jul 10th 2008 5:28PM

Now repeat it in English because I don't speak "teh lawsuits".

born2kill @ Jul 10th 2008 5:37PM

Steve Carell needs a shave

bluezy @ Jul 10th 2008 6:57PM

No kidding. He totally looks like him.

FOXHOUND @ Jul 11th 2008 7:18AM

Steve Carrell striking a David Duchovny "stoic" pose.

LiK @ Jul 10th 2008 5:41PM

he deserves every penny

Cesaria (cesariatic.wordpress.com) @ Jul 10th 2008 5:47PM

Day man, fighter of the nightman!

DigTheDoug @ Jul 11th 2008 6:19PM

Champion of the Sun!

The Fatass of Kickassness @ Jul 10th 2008 6:05PM

Yahoo.

Someone needs to fix this comment system. Comments disappear left and right and take forever to show up when you post 'em.

ryan @ Jul 10th 2008 6:17PM

so, the guy makes one good game and now he's hot sh*t? I know he created the first game in the series and all, but I don't know that he should get money for a game that's apparently being made by a whole different studio. Shouldn't it rather be going to the people actually WORKING on the game?

Marty @ Jul 10th 2008 6:26PM

Games don't just spring forth from the collective hands of artists, musicians, and coders - they require a guiding light and a centralized idea. That's where game designers come into play, and that's why he would (should?) get royalties.

And he didn't just work on BioShock. He's worked on a good number of excellent titles, including Tribes, System Shock 2, and Thief.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ken_Levine

Intentless @ Jul 10th 2008 7:18PM

Thats the great thing about creating an idea... You are given credit for it...

aristokrat @ Jul 10th 2008 9:10PM

Damn, he did Tribes too? I loved that game. We need more games with disc-guns (but not in the form of Aerosmith games, for any sarcastic repliers).

ryan @ Jul 10th 2008 9:22PM

i'm not saying he shouldn't get credit for creating bioshock, he did and it was a great game, and if he wants to try to get a better deal off it that's fine. but the sequels? The second that game was handed off the other studio on the other side of the country, it then ceased to be his. It's not his idea anymore, it's somebody else's at 2K Marin. It's not right that he get the fruit of someone else's labor.