Nova Games Foundation Launches by Mark Cerny and Geoff Keighley With $100,000 Grants for Young Game Designers

PlayStation architect Mark Cerny and The Game Awards host Geoff Keighley unveiled the Nova Games Foundation on 9 September 2026, creating an independent fellowship programme that plans to give 20 young game designers at least $100,000 each every year. Cerny, the lead architect behind the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5, and Keighley, who also hosts Summer Game Fest and Opening Night Live, have each committed multi-million-dollar donations to establish the foundation.

The pair revealed the project through an exclusive Game File interview. Nova is separate from both PlayStation and The Game Awards, with Cerny and Keighley positioning it as a philanthropic project intended to support new game creators without taking ownership of their work.

Nova Will Give 20 Game Designers at Least $100,000 Each Year

Every Nova fellow will receive a $100,000 grant, putting the programme’s baseline annual grant spending at $2 million across 20 recipients. About a quarter of the fellows can qualify for up to another $500,000 when their projects are developing particularly well, with additional payments tied to development milestones.

That means selected projects could receive as much as $600,000 in total funding. The grants are paired with mentorship from established game industry figures, giving recipients both development capital and access to experienced creators while they build their projects.

Students From 13 Game Design Programmes Can Apply

The first Nova intake will draw from class of 2026 and 2027 students across 13 affiliated game programmes in eight countries. Universities named so far include New York University and the University of Southern California in the United States, Abertay University in Scotland, Cnam-Enjmin in France, TH Köln in Germany and the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology in Australia.

Applications are due to open in December 2026. A complete list of participating universities and detailed application instructions is still to come, while the first group of Nova fellows is scheduled to be announced in March 2027.

Cerny and Keighley Want to Help New Game Directors Get Started

The foundation grew out of a friendship between Cerny and Keighley that developed over years in the games industry. Keighley said the pair began meeting for dinner several times a year in Los Angeles around a decade ago, with their conversations repeatedly returning to what they could do to help the next generation of game directors establish themselves.

Cerny told Game File, “I’m nearing the end of my career. I’m not done yet, but paying it forward, in the best way possible, is very much on my mind these days.”

Keighley drew inspiration from fellowship programmes such as the Rhodes Scholarship and the MacArthur Foundation’s grants. He also pointed to USC graduate Jenova Chen, who went on to lead games including Flower and Journey, as an example of the kind of creative path the programme hopes to encourage.

Cerny described Nova’s target as games with “artistic, literary and societal value”. The foundation is also looking for creators capable of leading a small team and carrying a project through development rather than selecting ideas solely on their creative premise.

Nova Fellows Will Keep Ownership of Their Games

Nova will not take equity in the games it funds. Fellows retain ownership of their projects, can approach whichever publishers and platforms they choose, and can receive introductions to publishers through the foundation without Nova taking a cut.

Keighley said he has never owned stock in a game company or taken a financial stake in a game because of his position in the industry. “Nova is philanthropy: we aren’t taking equity or looking to recoup the grants,” he said.

That distinction gives recipients access to substantial external funding without surrendering a share of the game to the organisation providing it. Nova’s intended return is the creation of new games and new creative careers rather than a financial stake in successful projects.

Josef Fares Is Already Supporting the Foundation

Nova has appointed John Maconga as executive director and Ashley Corrigan, the recent Game Developers Conference director, as head of grants. Keighley said dozens of leading game directors have expressed interest in contributing their time to the programme.

Hazelight founder and game director Josef Fares is already involved through both a donation and a commitment to support future fellows. Fares said the programme can give the next generation of creators the freedom to explore their ideas and bring their own visions to life.

Nova Is Intended to Outlast Its Two Founders

Cerny and Keighley want the foundation to eventually be backed by a wider endowment supported by people and companies throughout the games industry. Both founders intend to continue contributing themselves, but Keighley said one measure of success would be Nova developing into something the wider industry feels ownership in.

Cerny believes that process could unfold over the next 10 or 20 years. The first practical test arrives much sooner, with applications scheduled to open in December 2026 before Nova announces its inaugural group of fellows in March 2027.