Nova Games Foundation will fund 20 graduate game designers a year with $100,000 grants

Nova Games Foundation

Mark Cerny and Geoff Keighley have launched the Nova Games Foundation, a non-profit that will give $100,000 to each of 20 fellows a year, with about a quarter of them eligible for up to $500,000 more as their projects progress. It works with 13 universities worldwide, takes no equity and asks for no repayment, and says fellowship applications open in December 2026. {"url": "https://api.ironmonger360.com/public/assets/QTOveLEWquZIA2Tk8Z-XhDIPjcSkZBYU"}

Game File first reported the launch of the Nova Games Foundation, a non-profit set up to pay game designers coming out of university to direct their own original projects.

The details:

Background. The foundation was founded by Mark Cerny, lead architect on the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5, and Geoff Keighley, who hosts The Game Awards, Summer Game Fest and Opening Night Live. Both have made multi-million-dollar donations to establish it, and Keighley told Game File that "Nova is philanthropy".
The substance. Each fellow receives $100,000, paid out against development milestones, and roughly a quarter of them can receive up to $500,000 more where a project is progressing well. Game Developer reported that fellows keep full ownership of what they make, with the foundation taking no equity and expecting no recoupment, leaving them free to take a finished game to any publisher or platform.
Who can apply. The foundation works with 13 universities worldwide. Game File named New York University, the University of Southern California, Abertay University, Cnam-Enjmin, TH Köln and the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology among them, with eligibility running to the classes of 2026 and 2027. John Maconga is executive director, and Ashley Corrigan, a recent director at the Game Developers Conference, is head of grants.
Status. The foundation's own site says fellowship applications open in December 2026, and that fuller detail on the participating universities and the steps for applying is due in mid-September. The first fellows are announced in March 2027. Josef Fares of Hazelight Studios has donated and pledged mentoring, and the foundation says dozens of game directors will mentor fellows.
Industry context. Nova joins a small group of non-commercial routes into funded development, alongside public schemes such as Gamecity Hamburg's prototype round. It has also drawn scepticism about what a fellowship can address. Jenna Yow, a narrative designer at Ko-Op, told Aftermath she does not know that "launching a fellowship for new people entering the industry is going to help address the fundamental problems of longevity and sustainability in existing studios".

Nova will fund 20 people a year, and everyone else finishing a games course still needs the studio job that builds towards directing something of their own. A Free Hitmarker Profile keeps your work in front of the studios hiring for those roles.