The Game Awards' Host & PS5 Architect Set Program to Help Aspiring Game Designers
Geoff Keighley and Mark Cerny are launching a philanthropic project titled Nova Games Foundation.
Frank Micelotta, Getty Images/Brendan McDermid, Reuters
Geoff Keighley, executive producer and host of The Game Awards, and Mark Cerny, game designer and lead system architect of the PS4 and PS5, teamed up to create a philanthropic initiative, Nova Games Foundation, to help aspiring game designers through funding and mentorship.
According to Game File's report, the project is a fellowship program set up in collaboration with universities, intended to offer six-figure grants to 20 young game designers each year. The program will offer "no-strings-attached" funding with mentorship from industry leaders. The ultimate goal is to help develop "groundbreaking new games."
"I'm nearing the end of my career," Cerny said. "I'm not done yet, but paying it forward – in the best way possible – is very much on my mind these days."
"I've never owned stock in a game company or taken a financial stake in a game. Nova is philanthropy: we aren't taking equity or looking to recoup the grants. The return we're hoping for is creative – helping new voices make games and find their footing," Keighley shared. "Mark and I have each made multi-million-dollar donations to establish the foundation, and we intend to keep contributing. We hope others will join us."
Nova will open its application window in December, welcoming submissions from 2026 and 2027 graduating students across 13 partner gaming programs spread over eight countries. Participating schools include New York University and the University of Southern California in the United States, Scotland's Abertay University, France's CNAM-Enjmin, Germany's TH Köln, and Australia's RMIT.
Under the program, each recipient will receive $100,000, and about a quarter of fellows will have the opportunity to secure an additional $500,000 for projects that appear specifically promising. Funds will be released as creators hit development milestones, and recipients will retain ownership of their projects. Nova will help promote the games and can introduce developers to publishers, but developers stay free to pick their own publishing partners and platforms, and Nova doesn't take a cut of any deals.
The initiative already has its first employees: an executive director, John Maconga, and a head of grants, recent Game Developers Conference director Ashley Corrigan, who will work recruiting game industry leaders to join the effort. According to Keighley, Josef Fares, lead designer at Hazelight, renowned for It Takes Two and Split Fiction, has joined the project.
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