Mark Cerny and Geoff Keighley have jointly unveiled the Nova Games Foundation, a charitable fellowship designed to provide financial backing and mentorship to up-and-coming video game creators. The initiative, which operates independently of The Game Awards and PlayStation, is structured to distribute sizable grants to promising talent while preserving the creators' artistic autonomy. According to reporting from Game File, the foundation intends to allocate $100,000 to each of twenty selected designers annually. Approximately one‑quarter of those awardees will qualify for an extra tranche of up to $500,000 should their projects demonstrate exceptional potential or require additional resources to reach fruition.
This tiered funding model seeks to nurture a broad spectrum of ideas, from modest indie experiments to more ambitious, technically complex undertakings. Beyond the monetary component, recipients will benefit from direct mentorship by seasoned industry veterans. The program emphasizes that grantees retain full ownership of their intellectual property, allowing them to negotiate publishing deals, platform partnerships, or self‑distribution arrangements as they see fit.
Nova’s network can facilitate introductions to publishers and platform holders, but it will not impose equity demands or seek repayment of the grants, underscoring the purely philanthropic intent of the effort. Application windows open in December for graduates of the 2026 and 2027 cohorts from thirteen partner university programs located across eight nations. Participating institutions include TH Köln in Germany, RMIT University in Australia, Cnam‑Enjmin in France, Abertay University in Scotland, as well as the United States duo of New York University and the University of Southern California.
By targeting students from a diverse set of academic environments, Nova aims to capture a wide range of cultural perspectives and design philosophies. Both founders are contributing substantial personal capital to seed the foundation.
Cerny, renowned as the lead architect behind the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 consoles, and Keighley, the long‑time host of The Game Awards, Summer Game Fest, and Opening Night Live, have each pledged multi‑million‑dollar contributions. They have indicated a willingness to continue investing as the program scales, ensuring a sustainable pipeline of resources for future cohorts. "Nova is philanthropy: we aren't taking equity or looking to recoup the grants," Keighley explained to Game File. "The return we're hoping for is creative – helping new voices make games and find their footing." This philosophy reflects a broader industry conversation about how to foster innovation without imposing commercial constraints that might dilute artistic vision.
To manage day‑to‑day operations, the foundation has appointed John Maconga as executive director and recruited former Game Developers Conference director Ashley Corrigan to lead the grants office. Their combined experience in event production, community building, and funding administration is expected to streamline the selection process and provide robust support for awardees. The initiative has already attracted additional backing from notable creators. Josef Fares, the director behind acclaimed titles such as It Takes Two and Split Fiction, has pledged both a financial donation and ongoing mentorship.
"I'm proud to support Nova because it gives the next generation of creators the freedom to explore their creativity and hopefully bring their unique visions to life," Fares said, highlighting the foundation’s role as an incubator for fresh talent. Cerny articulated a clear artistic mission for the fellowship, positioning games as a legitimate medium for artistic expression.
He cited a curated list of exemplary works—Neva, Abzu, Gorogoa, Stray, and Outer Wilds—as the kind of innovative, emotionally resonant experiences Nova hopes to enable. These titles are frequently referenced for their distinctive aesthetics, narrative depth, and inventive gameplay mechanics, serving as benchmarks for the type of quality the foundation wishes to champion. Keighley’s personal inspiration for the fellowship concept draws from several sources.
He referenced his own unsuccessful bid for a Rhodes Scholarship, the prestige of the MacArthur Foundation’s "genius grants," and the career of Jenova Chen—a USC alumnus known for creating the poetic games Flower and Journey. By blending these influences, Keighley aims to replicate the sense of discovery and support that can launch a creator’s career onto a global stage. In practice, the Nova Games Foundation could reshape the indie development landscape by reducing financial barriers and providing a safety net for experimental projects that might otherwise be deemed too risky by traditional investors.
The combination of sizable grants, mentorship, and industry connections offers a holistic support system that addresses both the creative and business challenges faced by emerging developers. Looking ahead, the foundation’s success will likely be measured by the diversity and impact of the games it helps bring to market. If even a handful of funded projects achieve critical acclaim or commercial viability, the ripple effect could inspire additional philanthropic efforts within the gaming sector, encouraging more veterans to invest directly in the next generation of storytellers and technologists.
Overall, the Nova Games Foundation represents a bold experiment in nurturing talent, emphasizing artistic integrity over profit motives, and promising to enrich the cultural tapestry of interactive entertainment for years to come.