Take Two has signed a deal with Universal to produce a film based on last year's smash hit Bioshock, to be headed up by Pirates of the Caribbean director Gore Verbinski.

According to Variety, Take-Two will receive a multi-million dollar advance, believed to be the biggest videogame-to-movie deal since 2005's doomed Halo signing by Fox and Universal.

Ken Levine, head of 2K Boston / 2K Australia and creative director on Bioshock, has apparently been regularly consulted with regarding the project, although no word has been forthcoming on whether he will have an official role.

Take Two executive chairman Strauss Zelnick has emphasised how important it is for Take Two to remain involved with the project, telling variety that "one of the things we decided early on is that we didn't want to go through a producer.

For the full story, visit MCV sister site Develop.