adminThe Nova Games Foundation, launched by Mark Cerny and Geoff Keighley, is a philanthropic fellowship designed to help emerging game designers develop original projects. The program plans to provide grants, mentorship, and industry connections while allowing recipients to keep ownership of their games.
Image credit: Nova Games Foundation
How the Nova Games Foundation fellowship will work
The foundation plans to award $100,000 grants to 20 designers each year. Roughly one quarter of the recipients may qualify for up to $500,000 in additional funding for projects considered especially promising. The grants are philanthropic: the foundation does not plan to take equity or recover the money it awards.
Funding will also come with mentorship from experienced people in the games industry. Designers will retain ownership of their work and can choose their own publishers and platforms. Nova may help recipients make introductions, but the program does not require them to work with a particular company.
For prospective applicants, the published eligibility information is an important first check: applications are due to open in December for 2026 and 2027 graduates from 13 affiliated university programs across eight countries. Applicants should confirm that their program is included and review the foundation’s application details when they become available.
Participating universities and international reach
The affiliated programs span several regions. Examples named by the foundation include TH Köln in Germany, RMIT in Australia, Cnam-Enjmin in France, Abertay University in Scotland, and NYU and USC in the United States. These are examples from a wider group of 13 programs, rather than a complete list.
Because eligibility is tied to graduation years and participating programs, students should check both requirements before preparing an application. A clear explanation of a game concept and its creative goals may also help applicants communicate their plans, although the foundation’s final submission requirements should guide what they provide.
Who is behind the foundation?
Cerny, the lead architect of PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5, and Keighley, host of The Game Awards, Summer Game Fest, and Opening Night Live, are contributing millions of dollars of their own money. They expect to continue investing as the foundation develops. Nova is unaffiliated with The Game Awards and PlayStation.
The organization has appointed John Maconga as executive director and Ashley Corrigan, a former Game Developers Conference director, as head of grants. Josef Fares, director of It Takes Two and Split Fiction, has also pledged a donation and support.
A focus on games as an artistic medium
Cerny has described the goal as supporting games as an artistic medium. He pointed to Neva, Abzu, Gorogoa, Stray, and Outer Wilds as examples of the kind of distinctive work the program hopes to make possible. Keighley has said the fellowship idea drew inspiration in part from his unsuccessful Rhodes Scholarship application, the MacArthur Foundation’s “genius grants,” and USC graduate Jenova Chen, known for Flower and Journey.
By combining direct grants with mentorship while leaving creative and publishing decisions with recipients, the Nova Games Foundation aims to give new designers room to build their work on their own terms. Eligible graduates should follow official announcements for application dates and requirements.
