Overview
- The Nova Games Foundation was announced Tuesday by Geoff Keighley and Mark Cerny with each founder making multi‑million‑dollar seed donations to create a long‑term endowment.
- The program will select 20 recent graduates each year and award initial no‑equity grants of $100,000, with milestone‑locked top‑ups that can total up to $500,000 for projects that meet development goals.
- Nova has formal partnerships with 13 university programs worldwide and will open applications in December for 2026 and 2027 graduates, with the first cohort to be named in March 2027.
- The foundation has hired executive director John Maconga and head of grants Ashley Corrigan, and has recruited Josef Fares as a founding donor and mentor while reporting interest from dozens of leading game directors.
- The launch follows public criticism of Keighley’s earlier Future Class program over sparse follow‑through and uneven mentorship, making clear delivery, accountability, and how mentorship will be provided central points of public scrutiny as Nova scales.