> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://aftermath.site/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Former Game Awards Future Class Members Skeptical Of Geoff Keighley's Involvement With Grant Program For Game Devs - URL: https://aftermath.site/future-class-nova-grant-keighley-cerny/ - Published: 2026-09-10T16:10:06.000Z - Updated: 2026-09-10T16:10:06.000Z - Description: The Nova Games Foundation, co-founded by Geoff Keighley and Mark Cerny, will provide 20 game design school grads with mentorship and a no-strings-attached grant - Author: Riley MacLeod - Tags: Feature, geoff keighley, the game awards, nyu game center, nova games foundation, #top-story On Tuesday,[ Game File](https://www.gamefile.news/p/nova-games-foundation-mark-cerny-geoff-keighley?ref=aftermath.site) reported that The Game Awards founder Geoff Keighley and PlayStation architect Mark Cerny have launched the Nova Games Foundation, which will provide no-strings-attached grants to game design students to fund a game. For the program’s inaugural year, 20 designers will receive $100k grants, as well as mentorship, and some could receive an additional $500k. While anyone *giving* money to people making games–instead of taking it away in the form of slashed budgets, cancelled projects, and lost jobs–sounds like a good idea these days, the nature of the program, and Keighley’s participation, has some in the games industry uncertain whether the initiative will live up to its promises. [Nova Games Foundation](https://novagamesfoundation.org/?ref=aftermath.site) grants will only be available to students affiliated with 13 specific universities, including NYU and USC in America, as well as universities in Scotland, Australia, Germany, and France. Cerny and Keighley both put their own money into the Foundation, and hope to get additional contributions as it gets off the ground. Nova has hired an executive director and head of grants to run things, and has attached what Keighley calls “dozens of leading game directors” to lend their time to the project, including Hazelight’s Josef Fares. But many people seized on Keighley’s participation, especially in light of his previous efforts to support games industry workers via The Game Awards Future Class, a program that began in [2020](https://www.gamesindustry.biz/the-game-awards-announces-inaugural-future-class?ref=aftermath.site) and inducted its last class in 2023\. In 2023, Future Class leadership and participants clashed over [participants’ request that Keighley acknowledge Israel’s genocide in Gaza at that year's Awards](https://aftermath.site/one-week-and-2600-signatures-later-game-awards-havent-acknowledged-future-class-palestine-letter/), and subsequently over efforts by participants to [improve the program’s offerings](https://www.theguardian.com/games/2025/nov/11/future-class-gamings-oscars-game-awards?ref=aftermath.site). The experience has left some people leery of another Keighley-backed initiative. “A program like \[Nova\], with this much money going behind it, can’t hurt,” one Future Class participant, whom Aftermath is granting anonymity due to fear of career repercussions, told Aftermath. “I just hope the people in charge succeed with the ideas they’ve cultivated and subsequently get the flowers they deserve, because Keighley didn’t deserve the flowers he so eagerly picked up for his attempt at bettering the industry through Future Class.” "I hope… recipients of this program receive what they are promised, rather than becoming a cheap bit of good press for Mr. Keighley,” said another Future Class participant, whom Aftermath is granting anonymity over career concerns. Aftermath has reached out to the Nova Games Foundation for more information, but did not hear back in time for publication. ## **The Rise And Fall Of Future Class** Unlike Future Class’ broad focus on participants’ careers, Nova is focused on helping people make specific games. Game File wrote that Nova’s payments > will be delivered based on development milestones, and recipients will own their games. Nova will help promote the work, and developers will be free to pursue the publishers and platforms of their choice. Nova can help introduce fellows to publishers, but won’t take a cut. Keighley told Game File that the program 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.” Naomi Clark, chair of participating school the NYU Game Center, told Aftermath that NYU faculty’s role will be to encourage students to apply and to write letters of recommendation for their applications. She told Aftermath that “I am excited for the potential of the Nova grants because they're quite different from other forms of recognition or funding. Unlike some programs to celebrate up-and-coming creative voices, the Nova grants are primarily about direct, material support in the form of seed money for a graduating student to kick off a new project.” “I'm hopeful that from across all these schools \[Nova will\] find twenty interesting, unusual, innovative or groundbreaking projects, and that twenty games will begin growing that might not otherwise have a chance to come to life,” Clark said. While multiple people are involved in the Nova Games Foundation, and while it appears to have been chiefly Cerny’s idea (“Keighley credits Cerny with the idea to figure out a way to put their money and time back into the industry,” Game File writes), much of the reaction to the announcement centered on Keighley. On social media, many people were quick to point out the fact that Keighley has tried something like this before with The Game Awards’ Future Class. Future Class was conceived of as a way to highlight people who “represent the bright, bold, and inclusive future of video games,” according to its now inactive [Medium page](https://tgafutureclass.medium.com/?ref=aftermath.site). (Inductees were previously listed on The Game Awards’ website, but their names have since been [deleted](https://kotaku.com/game-awards-2025-future-class-tgas-geoff-keighley-2000641757?ref=aftermath.site).) In late 2023, Future Class members and alumni [penned an open letter](https://aftermath.site/one-week-and-2600-signatures-later-game-awards-havent-acknowledged-future-class-palestine-letter/) that garnered thousands of signatures, asking Keighley to address Israel’s genocide in Gaza from that year’s Game Awards stage, which Keighley didn’t do. Following the letter, Future Class participants [told Aftermath in 2024](https://aftermath.site/game-awards-2024-future-class-game-changer-geoff-keighley/) that there was a meeting with Keighley and program administrators to talk about making changes to Future Class. Ultimately, there was no Future Class for The Game Awards in 2024, where Keighley unveiled a “Game Changer” Award that some feared was the program’s replacement. Organizer Emily Weir told [Game Developer](https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/the-game-awards-confirms-its-future-class-program-will-remain-on-ice?ref=aftermath.site) in 2025 that there wouldn’t be a Future Class that year and that there were no “active programming plans for Future Class.” > 'None of that just actually manifested for us, and when we requested that we actually receive what we were promised... they simply killed the program.' One Future Class participant told [The Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/games/2025/nov/11/future-class-gamings-oscars-game-awards?ref=aftermath.site) in 2025 that inductees felt like “props” as part of the program, with some participants feeling that it didn’t live up to its promises of networking and mentorship. The mentorship “felt like Keighley just called a bunch of his friends to do Zoom calls,” one inductee told the outlet. Participants credited other members for getting the 2023 class better mentorship opportunities, as well as lodging and airfare to The Game Awards, to which Future Class members could buy discounted tickets. But many who spoke to The Guardian felt that the program ended due to members’ pushback and efforts to improve it, with one saying they felt program leaders ultimately thought the whole thing was “too much trouble.” Given the rise and fall of Future Class, a quote from Keighley in Game File’s report might sound strange: Keighley told the outlet, “I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about what I can do for future generations. Games have been my entire career. I’ve been incredibly fortunate, and helping someone else build a life in this industry feels like a meaningful way to give back.” Wasn’t that what Future Class was for? What assurances will Nova participants have that their program won’t go the same way? In a followup thread on Bluesky, Game File’s Stephen Totilo [quoted Keighley](https://bsky.app/profile/stephentotilo.bsky.social/post/3muzumyxxfk26?ref=aftermath.site) as saying that “Future Class was a list to recognize emerging voices and potential leaders across the industry. There’s a shared belief behind both \[Future Class and Nova\]: that it’s worth paying attention to people early in their careers and helping others see their potential." “I do feel it’s strange to see \[Keighley\] framing Future Class as a list when it was absolutely a program,” the first Future Class participant told Aftermath. They highlighted Future Class’ newsletter, mentorship calls, and Discord server as examples of how it was more than just a list of honorees. The second Future Class participant told Aftermath, “It’s interesting to see Geoff make the clarification that the Future Class program was merely a list. That is not how the program was sold to us participants, as we were told that we would receive mentorship and connections.” This participant felt Future Class failed to live up to those promises, saying, “None of that just actually manifested for us, and when we requested that we actually receive what we were promised and for the program to live up to its values and acknowledge the atrocities committed in Gaza in a similar manner that they did the [war in Ukraine](https://www.ign.com/articles/ukrainian-game-studios-industry-support-ukraine?ref=aftermath.site), they simply killed the program.” “I’m also puzzled by the framing of Future Class as being dedicated to spotlighting ‘people early in their careers,’” the first participant said. “There were absolutely many talented and skilled juniors among the cohorts, but there were also people like Tanya DePass, Halley Gross, and Elaine Gómez — incredible people who were already established experts in their fields. To frame the up-and-coming juniors as being ‘early in their careers’ in the same way as them is disingenuous at best.” [‘Lay Off CEOs Instead’: Game Awards Protesters Fed Up With The Show And The State Of The Industry“The ones who made the games are outside. \[Bosses and executives\] are inside patting themselves on the back”![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/30/f5/30f5b1bb-84ee-4c26-b446-fb9a5e512994/content/images/icon/favicon4-1b7178d2-b9ab-49f6-94db-d6109aae05b1.png)AftermathNathan Grayson![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/30/f5/30f5b1bb-84ee-4c26-b446-fb9a5e512994/content/images/thumbnail/IMG_0063-9938165b-c2c0-4905-94d9-4bc114554748.JPG)](https://aftermath.site/game-awards-2025-protest-future-class-uvw/) According to Totilo, Keighley also said he [sees Nova](https://bsky.app/profile/stephentotilo.bsky.social/post/3muzumyxxfl26?ref=aftermath.site) as serving a “different, more specific purpose” than Future Class: “It’s focused on recent university and college graduates who want to make games. Recognition is part of it, but so is giving someone practical help to take the next step.” Limiting the program to students also [concerned](https://bsky.app/profile/justinoaksford.bsky.social/post/3muzyhseqi22j?ref=aftermath.site) [some](https://bsky.app/profile/cptcorallis.bsky.social/post/3muzwuhb4ed23?ref=aftermath.site) people who [reacted](https://bsky.app/profile/stephentotilo.bsky.social/post/3muzqt75alk2v/quotes?ref=aftermath.site) to the announcement, who feared this could prioritize people who already have the support of an academic program and the financial means to attend one. The first Future Class participant told Aftermath they worried the school requirement could disadvantage “brown and Black students — who tend to need the most financial help so that they can achieve their full potential.” ## The Games Industry At Large Beyond who’s eligible to receive a grant, there’s also the question of its role in today’s games industry. Game File wrote that Keighley sees the Nova program as potentially “useful to help promising graduates bridge the transition from student to professional.” Keighley told Game File that “Joining an established studio isn’t always possible—especially in today’s market—and even then, it isn’t the right path for everyone.” That’s one way of framing the current industry facing game design school grads. But what happens after the Nova-funded grant is done? In a landscape of limited opportunities, closing studios, and mass layoffs, where do participants’ careers go once the money is gone? “Call me cynical but I don't 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,” Ko-Op narrative designer Jenna Yow wrote on [Bluesky](https://bsky.app/profile/jannouna.bsky.social/post/3muzu2nlwqk27?ref=aftermath.site), later [writing](https://bsky.app/profile/jannouna.bsky.social/post/3muzuaqp2zc27?ref=aftermath.site) that, “A few years ago when I was a graduating game design major, the one thing I did not want to do was start my own company/kickstart a passion project, because I knew that no amount of striking out on my own could substitute from actually learning from seniors.” “I get a lot of requests from mentees for apprenticeships but there is no money for me to hire seniors for a project to teach them on,” [wrote](https://bsky.app/profile/caraellison.bsky.social/post/3mv25thknxk23?ref=aftermath.site) game designer and former games journalist Cara Ellison. > 'A foundation funded, at least initially, by two individuals to help dozens of people is not going to shore up the whole game industry.' When asked by Aftermath if and how a Nova Games Foundation grant could set a student up for their career, Clark said that “As I understand Mark Cerny's vision for Nova, the point is not simply to make more pathways into the game industry; it's an investment into the future possibilities of games as a creative medium. After all, if you compare the massive scale of layoffs at the large end of the industry to the small number of up-and-coming creatives who would be supported by Nova grants, there are many orders of magnitude difference. A foundation funded, at least initially, by two individuals to help dozens of people is not going to shore up the whole game industry.” Clark continued > I don't see Nova as a substitute option for a graduating student whose ambition is to get an entry-level job in AAA games. That can be a very difficult and risky route to travel, as our students who set out in that direction \[know\]. Nova, on the other hand, will provide the very first round of funding for brand-new concepts to start design and production, giving talented students with noteworthy ideas an additional runway to freely explore. What happens after they make a game? We play the game, and in doing so we've hopefully moved the meaning of play forward a little bit. “Alternately, if a student game isn't successful, and many aren't for a host of reasons,” Clark said, “it's still an accomplishment in their portfolio which will serve them in all sorts of fields they go into.” Perhaps Nova is better seen as akin to the rise of studio-funded publishing[ initiatives](https://aftermath.site/indie-game-publishers-outersloth-pocketpair/): not a fix for an industry in turmoil, but at least a new option in a time when *any* option can be difficult to come by. And, unlike Future Class, the Nova Games Foundation is more than the brainchild of one person, and it’s tied to institutions invested in education and mentorship, rather than promoting a handful of yearly events. Clark believes that, at the very least, participants “will have more than what they started with, we'll see some new sprouts, and if we're lucky at a communal level, we'll see some significant blossoming that would benefit far more people than just the original grantee.” And the Future Class participants who spoke to Aftermath are hopeful that the program can do some good, even if they feel misgivings about it. “The other people involved with the project are great and have fantastic reputations and track records, so maybe Keighley is just attaching his name to promote the program (and himself),” the first Future Class participant said. “I’d see that as the best course of action here.” They said, “Ultimately, I am happy that this program exists and my wish is for the people who benefit from it to consider it a life-changing part of their journey.”