Quick Take
- Key IMLS, NEH, and NSF grants rescinded as part of broader Trump cuts to science and arts
- Game preservation efforts and diversity programs face indefinite delays or collapse
- Researchers left seeking private funds as federal support pipeline dries up
When funding was approved for a video game preservation project at the University of North Carolina in 2024, the team expected a multi-year initiative. The $150,000 grant from the Institute for Museum and Library Services (IMLS) was set to fund research into how libraries could better collect and circulate digital games. By April 2025, the project was dead in the water.
The Trump administration’s rollback of funding for the sciences, humanities, and cultural programs has led to widespread grant cancellations. For researchers like Colin Post, assistant professor at UNC Greensboro, the sudden rescission meant canceling a planned conference and shelving plans for building digital lending infrastructure. Post said he was able to complete one phase of exploratory work, but the next steps are indefinitely paused.
These cuts reach across multiple agencies such as IMLS, National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), the National Science Foundation (NSF), and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). All of which have historically funded forward-looking game research. Grants focused on climate storytelling, virtual equity tools, and youth education have all been pulled mid-development, forcing teams to halt work or look elsewhere for funding.
Projects Left Unfinished
At Arizona State University, a canceled NSF grant ended a program helping Latinx students develop games around climate themes. A separate study aimed at improving inclusion in game studio workspaces lost funding just before publishing its final findings.
Meanwhile, at Michigan State University, a $1.6 million NSF-funded initiative designed to reduce “Zoom fatigue” and racial inequities in virtual meetings ran out of money with its last $200,000 pulled. That amount was meant to complete deployment of a virtual world platform created by the team, which had already spent years building the tool. Without funding, there’s no way to pay students or researchers to wrap up remaining work.
“The main goal of the home stretch was to get our work out into the games industry,” said MSU professor Rabindra Ratan. He called the loss “part of what we see as an ongoing culture war” targeting equity-focused work in tech.
Game Preservation Efforts Stall
The preservation of digital games, a long-standing challenge for libraries and archives, was hit especially hard. A joint project between the University of Washington’s Game Research Group, the Video Game History Foundation, and The Strong National Museum of Play lost its IMLS funding just as development began. The goal had been to improve game access in public institutions, something researchers say is urgently needed as digital distribution overtakes physical media.
Post noted that libraries already face hurdles acquiring digital titles due to lack of proper licensing frameworks. Without new tools, collecting games at scale becomes unsustainable. “Games belong in both public and academic libraries,” he said, “but libraries will not be able to continue this work if we don’t adapt.”
The Strong Museum itself lost two grants this spring. One, for a toy catalog archival project, was temporarily reinstated after a court order. The other, meant to support a new exhibition on American game shows, remains canceled. Shane Rhinewald, director of communications at the museum, said both projects will continue in some form, but scope and timing are in flux.
VR Game on Andean History Put on Hold
Rebecca Bria, a professor at UT San Antonio, saw years of planning fall apart just two months after receiving a $100,000 NEH grant for her VR game Paccha. The game aimed to present archaeological and cultural material from the Peruvian Andes in an interactive format, with input from Indigenous collaborators. With the grant rescinded, core staff lost funding and development stopped.
Bria and her co-developer Bruce Carlisle said the NEH’s “Digital Projects for the Public” program had been essential. The agency has now discontinued the program entirely. Without it, there’s no clear federal path to support the completion of the game.
Bria’s collaboration with the San Antonio Museum of Art and Peruvian village partners is now in limbo. Carlisle can no longer work full time on the game. “Losing the award is devastating,” they said.
A Diminished Pipeline for U.S. Game Research
Public research funding for game studies has always been less robust in the U.S. than in other countries. In past years, agencies like NEH and IMLS helped close that gap, supporting projects like the Games for Change Festival, school-based game design programs, and archival efforts.
The current wave of grant cancellations eliminates those avenues for many researchers. Some projects may still move forward with private or institutional support. Others will not.
“The video game industry is at the forefront of experimentation and exploration in technological development,” said Ratan. “By limiting research in this industry, it is limiting science as a whole.”
For now, much of the research has been completed. What’s missing is the bridge to implementation.
