Video game maker Take-Two Interactive is likely to sign “BioShock” creator Ken Levine to a new contract, a key development that strengthens the company’s argument that it’s worth more than rival Electronic Arts’ $25.74 per share takeover offer.
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.
Those concessions are meant to atone for the fact that Levine’s salary and bonus won’t rise to the level of the two creators of “Grand Theft Auto” at Rockstar Games.
“Levine delivered a big hit for Take-Two and they want to give him a good deal going forward,” said one source. “But ‘BioShock’ isn’t ‘Grand Theft Auto.’ It’s not even in the same universe.”
While “BioShock,” which Universal Pictures plans to adapt into a movie, has sold upward of 2.2 million units, the latest installment of “GTA” has sold nearly four times that amount in less than three months.
One source said Levine’s new contract could include the potential to earn points – much like actors do with movies – based on how much business the next installment of “BioShock” and any other games that he develops produce.
The video game industry has been moving toward a points-based compensation structure for developers of about 1 percent to 3 percent of a game’s total sales.
A Take-Two spokesman declined to comment, as did Levine’s rep at Creative Artists Agency.
According to Pacific Crest Securities analyst Evan Wilson, keeping Levine on staff is very important for Take-Two if it hopes to extract a higher price from EA.
“Having certifiable hit makers on staff is rare,” Wilson said. “If Take-Two tried to sell without development talent, then what would EA really be buying?”
To be sure, Wilson said that without Levine and other developers, EA likely wouldn’t pay what it has offered to date.
Take-Two has repeatedly rejected EA’s $25.74 per share offer as too low, and its investors seem to agree. Only slightly more than 6 million shares, or about 8 percent of Take-Two’s outstanding stock, have been tendered.
The rival game maker recently extended its tender offer for the fourth time, setting a July 18 deadline.