Geoff Keighley and Mark Cerny Launch Nova Games Foundation for Young Developers
Geoff Keighley and Mark Cerny are launching a new fellowship program called the "Nova Games Foundation," aimed at giving young game designers real money and mentorship to build original games.
The program will hand out six figure grants to 20 graduates every year.
Keighley is well known as the host of The Game Awards, Summer Game Fest, and Opening Night Live. Cerny has spent 45 years designing games and led the architecture behind the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5. Yet Nova is a separate project entirely, built as a standalone philanthropic effort outside their usual industry roles.
Cerny told Game File he's thinking about legacy these days. "I'm nearing the end of my career," he said. "I'm not done yet, but paying it forward, in the best way possible, is very much on my mind these days."
Keighley shared a similar sentiment, but from a slightly different angle. "I've always wanted to give back, but given my role in the industry, I've never felt it appropriate to commercially invest in games," he said. "I've never owned stock in a game company or taken a financial stake in a game. Nova is philanthropy: we aren't taking equity or looking to recoup the grants. The return we're hoping for is creative, helping new voices make games and find their footing."
What exactly do fellows get?
Here's what recipients can expect:
$100,000 per fellow
Up to $500,000 in additional funding for about a quarter of fellows, tied to development milestones
Full ownership of the games they create
Mentorship from established industry leaders
Help from Nova connecting them with publishers, though Nova won't take a cut
Payments roll out as developers hit milestones. Fellows stay free to pick whichever publisher or platform suits their project best.
Hazelight founder Josef Fares, known for It Takes Two and Split Fiction, has already pledged a donation along with his time as a mentor.
The foundation has also brought on an executive director, John Maconga, and a head of grants, Ashley Corrigan, who previously ran the Game Developers Conference.
Who's eligible for the first round?
Applications open in December 2026, and the program is starting with graduates from the class of 2026 and 2027. Only students from 13 affiliated university programs across 8 countries qualify initially.
The confirmed schools so far include:
New York University
University of Southern California
Abertay University in Scotland
Cnam-Enjmin in France
TH Köln in Germany
Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology in Australia
More will be added soon...
The first wave of Nova fellows will be announced in March 2027.
Both Cerny and Keighley hope the foundation eventually grows well beyond their own contributions, becoming something the wider industry feels ownership over. Cerny expects it could run for another 10 to 20 years, if not longer.
Comments