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Keighley and Cerny Co-Found Nova Games Foundation to Fund Young Creators

The no-equity, no-repayment grant model sets Nova apart from earlier industry support funds such as Indie Fund, which recoups its money after release, and it comes from two figures who have avoided direct commercial investment in games.

Key Facts

  • Geoff Keighley and Mark Cerny co-founded Nova Games Foundation, a nonprofit that funds young game creators, announced on September 9, 2026.
  • Nova Games Foundation selects 20 fellows per year and gives each $100,000, with up to $500,000 in additional support for promising projects.
  • Nova Games Foundation partners with 13 universities worldwide and targets games with artistic, literary, or social value.
  • Fellows keep ownership of their work, choose their own publisher and platform, and Nova takes no equity and requires no repayment.
  • Applications for Nova Games Foundation fellows open in December 2026, with details to be published in mid-September.

Reporting from 3 sources: 4Gamer.net, GameBusiness.jp, Game Spark.

Keighley and Cerny Co-Found Nova Games Foundation to Fund Young Creators

Geoff Keighley, the host and producer of The Game Awards and Summer Game Fest, and Mark Cerny, the lead architect of the PS4 and PS5, have co-founded Nova Games Foundation, a nonprofit that funds young game creators. The foundation runs a fellowship program for university graduates who want to move directly into original game development after finishing school. It partners with 13 universities worldwide and targets games with artistic, literary, or social value. Each year Nova selects 20 fellows and gives each $100,000, with up to $500,000 in additional support for especially promising projects. Fellows receive mentoring and promotion from industry leaders. Developers keep ownership of their work, choose their own publisher and platform, and Nova takes no equity and requires no repayment. The foundation is independent of Keighley's events and of PlayStation. Per Game File, both men donated several million dollars at the founding and plan to keep funding it. Keighley said he has avoided commercial investment in games because of his industry position and seeks no financial return. Cerny, aware of his late career, said he wants to give back to the next generation. Applications open in December 2026, with details due mid-September.

Keighley and Cerny have been meeting for meals to talk about the game industry for roughly a decade, and kept the conversations going over Zoom during the pandemic. The plan grew out of their shared question of what a next-generation game director needs to start a career. Cerny, who designed and programmed Marble Madness before his work as lead architect on the PS4 and PS5, said he is aware of being in the late stage of his career and wants to give back to the next generation in the best way he can.

Nova is structured so that fellows keep the rights to their work, can pick any publisher or platform, and owe nothing back. The foundation does not take equity and does not require repayment of the grant. Keighley told Game File that his position in the industry has kept him from commercial investment in games, and that Nova likewise seeks no financial return, only to help new talent build a foothold.

The model differs from earlier industry support. Indie Fund, set up by indie developers in 2010, has backed titles including Hollow Knight and TUNIC, but recovers its money after release. Nova's grants carry no such obligation. Applications for the first fellows open in December 2026, and the official site will publish details in mid-September.

Synthesized by Yomimono from the 3 cited sources below, including Japanese-language reporting where cited, then editorially reviewed before publishing.

Geoff Keighley Mark Cerny

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