Variety's Ben Fritz has claimed that "several sources" have confirmed that 2K Boston's Ken Levine, who's risen in the developer ranks thanks to his blockbuster BioShock (2.2 million units sold), is in the process of renegotiating his contract with Take-Two Interactive. Fritz says this explains why Levine has been largely absent from the press lately and why Take-Two would only say he's "involved" with BioShock 2, even though it's being made at another studio.

"...Levine has become one of the very few recognizable and respected names in the videogame development community and he's trying to use that to get the creative freedom and compensation he feels he deserves," Variety states. "Take-Two, meanwhile, obviously wants to keep the guy on board, but is probably wary both of not spending too much money and also not setting a precedent that it will regret having to follow with the creative director of every successful game going forward."

The report mentions that Levine has tapped Creative Artists Agency (CAA) to help him renegotiate with Take-Two chairman Strauss Zelnick and CEO Ben Feder. Negotiations have apparently been ongoing for a couple months and are not expected to wrap up anytime soon.