Keighley, Cerny reportedly launching Nova Games fellowship for young developers

Geoff Keighley, host of The Game Awards, and Mark Cerny, the PlayStation architect behind the PS4 and PS5, are reportedly launching a fellowship program for young game developers, first surfaced by Stephen Totilo on Bluesky. Totilo, a veteran games journalist who runs the GameFile newsletter, described the Nova Games Foundation as offering 20 six-figure grants a year plus mentorship to recent game design graduates, with the founders aiming to make it gaming's equivalent of the MacArthur "genius grant."

The report has not been confirmed by Keighley, Cerny, or any affiliated company, and Totilo's post is the only public account of the program so far. Neither figure has commented publicly, and no foundation website or formal announcement has surfaced. If the details hold, the program would represent an unusually large direct-investment vehicle for early-career developers, pairing cash with hands-on guidance from two of the industry's most prominent figures. Totilo's track record on exclusives lends the tip weight, but until Keighley, Cerny, or the foundation itself confirms the scope, the specifics remain unverified.