Game Theory

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Overview

Game theory models situations where each participant’s outcome depends on the choices of others, using concepts such as Nash, correlated, and evolutionary equilibria. Researchers analyze when these solutions exist and are efficient, design auctions and incentives, and develop learning methods including best-response dynamics, regret minimization, and multi-agent reinforcement learning. Applications range from routing, resource allocation, and security to bargaining and interactions among language-model agents. A central challenge is that equilibrium guarantees can be hard to compute and may not predict which outcomes real or learning agents reach, or whether those outcomes are fair and socially beneficial.

Latest papers

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240 papers27 papers in the last four weeks, down 13% on the four weeks before. 0.2% of all new papers.

  1. A Network Formation Game for Katz Centrality Maximization: A Resource Allocation Perspective

    Apr 3, 2026Balaji R, Prashil Wankhede, Pavankumar TallapragadaGame TheoryNash Equilibrium

    Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru, India.

  2. On rankings in multiplayer games with an application to the game of Whist

    Apr 1, 2026Alexis Coyette, Charles Modera, Candy Sonveaux +14Bradley–Terry ModelGame Theory

    Department of Mathematics, Naxys, Unamur, Belgium · Department of Physics and Astronomy, CSDC, University of Florence, Italy

  3. Internal State-Based Policy Gradient Methods for Partially Observable Markov Potential Games

    Apr 1, 2026Wonseok Yang, Thinh T. DoanNatural Policy GradientMulti-Agent Reinforcement Learning

    University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, 78712 USA

  4. Computational Foundations for Strategic Coopetition: Formalizing Sequential Interaction and Reciprocity

    Mar 29, 2026Vik Pant, Eric YuRepeated GamesGame Theory

    Faculty of Information, University of Toronto, 140 St George St, Toronto, ON M5S 3G6, Canada

  5. A Controllability Perspective on Steering Follow-the-Regularized-Leader Learners in Games

    Mar 28, 2026Heling Zhang, Siqi Du, Roy DongGame TheoryMulti-Agent Control

    Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Illinois Grainger Engineering, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. · Department of Industrial and Enterprise Systems Engineering at Illinois Grainger Engineering, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

  6. Learning in Proportional Allocation Auctions Games

    Mar 26, 2026Younes Ben Mazziane, Cleque-Marlain Mboulou Moutoubi, Eitan Altman +1Game TheoryOnline Resource Allocation

    LIA, Avignon university, Avignon, France · INRIA, Sophia Antipolis, France

  7. Strategic Infrastructure Design via Multi-Agent Congestion Games with Joint Placement and Pricing

    Mar 23, 2026Niloofar Aminikalibar, Farzaneh Farhadi, Maria ChliCongestion GamesMulti-Agent System Optimization

    Aston University, Birmingham, UK, B4 7ET

  8. On the existence of fair zero-determinant strategies in the periodic prisoner's dilemma game

    Mar 20, 2026Ken Nakamura, Masahiko UedaGame TheoryRepeated Games

    Graduate School of Sciences and Technology for Innovation, Yamaguchi University, Yamaguchi 753-8512, Japan · Department of Physics, Tokyo Metropolitan University, Tokyo 192-0397, Japan

  9. Interleaved Information Structures in Dynamic Games: A General Framework with Application to the Linear-Quadratic Case

    Mar 19, 2026Janani S K, Kushagra Gupta, Ufuk Topcu +1Game TheoryNash Equilibrium Computation

    Department of Engineering Design, Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Chennai, India · Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, USA · Department of Aerospace Engineering and the Oden Institute for Computational Engineering and Sciences, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, USA

  10. Evolutionarily Stable Stackelberg Equilibrium

    Mar 19, 2026Sam GanzfriedGame TheoryStackelberg Games

    Ganzfried Research, Cornell University

  11. Asymmetric Nash Seeking via Best Response Maps: Global Linear Convergence and Robustness to Inexact Reaction Models

    Mar 17, 2026Mahdis Rabbani, Navid Mojahed, Shima NazariNash Equilibrium ComputationGame Theory

    Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, University of California, Davis, One Shield Ave, Davis, CA 95616.

  12. Game-Theory-Assisted Reinforcement Learning for Border Defense: Early Termination based on Analytical Solutions

    Mar 16, 2026Goutam Das, Michael Dorothy, Kyle Volle +1Game-Theoretic RLReinforcement Learning

    School of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Purdue University, 610 Purdue Mall, West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA · Army Research Directorate, DEVCOM Army Research Laboratory, APG, MD 21005, USA · Munitions Directorate, Air Force Research Laboratory, Eglin AFB, FL 32542, USA +1

  13. Content Creation with Spillovers: An Incentive Design Approach

    Mar 15, 2026Sagi Ohayon, Boaz Taitler, Omer Ben-PoratMechanism DesignGame Theory

    Technion—Israel Institute of Technology

  14. Chance-Constrained Correlated Equilibria for Robust Noncooperative Coordination

    Mar 14, 2026Jaehan Im, Ufuk Topcu, David Fridovich-KeilGame TheoryDecision-Making under Uncertainty

    Department of Aerospace Engineering and Engineering Mechanics, The University of Texas at Austin · The Oden Institute for Computational Engineering and Sciences, The University of Texas at Austin

  15. Noncooperative Human-AI Agent Dynamics

    Mar 10, 2026Dylan Waldner, Vyacheslav Kungurtsev, Mitchelle AshimosiProspect TheoryHuman-AI Decision Making

  16. Strategically Robust Multi-Agent Reinforcement Learning with Linear Function Approximation

    Mar 10, 2026Jake Gonzales, Max Horwitz, Eric Mazumdar +1Multi-Agent Reinforcement LearningGame-Theoretic RL

    Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering, University of Washington · Computing & Mathematical Sciences, California Institute of Technology

  17. The Coordination Gap: Multi-Agent Alternation Metrics for Temporal Fairness in Repeated Games

    Mar 6, 2026Nikolaos Al. Papadopoulos, Ismael Tito Freire, Marti Sanchez-Fibla +1Multi-Agent CoordinationGame Theory

    Department of Applied Informatics, University of Macedonia, Egnatia 156, Thessaloniki 54636, Greece · Institut des Systèmes Intelligents et de Robotique (ISIR), Sorbonne Université, Paris, France · Department of Information and Communication Technologies, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, Spain

  18. Artificial Superintelligence May be Useless: Equilibria in the Economy of Multiple AI Agents

    Mar 1, 2026Huan Cai, Ziqing Lu, Catherine Xu +2Multi-Agent SystemsGame Theory

    Department of Economics and Business, Cornell College, Mount Vernon, IA, 52314. · Program of Applied Mathematical and Computational Sciences, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242. · Iowa City Math Circle and Club, Iowa. +2

  19. Conservative Equilibrium Discovery in Offline Game-Theoretic Multiagent Reinforcement Learning

    Feb 27, 2026Austin A. Nguyen, Michael P. WellmanReinforcement LearningGame Theory

    University of Michigan

  20. Zeroth-Order Stackelberg Control in Combinatorial Congestion Games

    Feb 26, 2026Saeed Masiha, Sepehr Elahi, Negar Kiyavash +1Frank-Wolfe AlgorithmsStackelberg Games

    EPFL School of Management of Technology · EPFL Department of Computer and Communications Sciences

  21. Robust Information Design for Multi-Agent Systems with Complementarities: Smallest-Equilibrium Threshold Policies

    Feb 26, 2026Farzaneh Farhadi, Maria ChliInformation DesignMulti-Agent Coordination

    Aston University, Birmingham, United Kingdom

  22. Multi-agent imitation learning with function approximation: Linear Markov games and beyond

    Feb 26, 2026Luca Viano, Till Freihaut, Emanuele Nevali +3Game TheoryImitation Learning

    1EPFL · University of Zurich · 3Earth Species Project

  23. Revisiting the Bertrand Paradox via Equilibrium Analysis of No-regret Learners

    Feb 25, 2026Arnab Maiti, Junyan Liu, Kevin Jamieson +1Swap RegretGame Theory

    University of Washington

  24. Body-Reservoir Governance in Repeated Games: Embodied Decision-Making, Dynamic Sentinel Adaptation, and Complexity-Regularized Optimization

    Feb 24, 2026Yuki NakamuraRepeated GamesGame Theory

    The Open University of Japan

  25. A potentialization algorithm for games with applications to multi-agent learning in repeated games

    Feb 21, 2026Philipp Lakheshar, Sharwin RezagholiGame TheoryPotential Games

    University of Applied Sciences Technikum Wien, Vienna, Austria

  26. Market Games for Generative Models: Equilibria, Welfare, and Strategic Entry

    Feb 19, 2026Xiukun Wei, Min Shi, Xueru ZhangGame TheoryNash Equilibrium

    The Ohio State University

  27. Linear Convergence in Games with Delayed Feedback via Extra Prediction

    Feb 19, 2026Yuma Fujimoto, Kenshi Abe, Kaito AriuGame Theory

    CyberAgent, Tokyo, Japan · Soken University, Kanagawa, Japan

  28. Algorithmic Collusion at Test Time: A Meta-game Design and Evaluation

    Feb 19, 2026Yuhong Luo, Daniel Schoepflin, Xintong WangAlgorithmic CollusionGame Theory

    Rutgers University · DIMACS, Rutgers University

  29. Evaluating Collective Behaviour of Hundreds of LLM Agents

    Feb 18, 2026Richard Willis, Jianing Zhao, Yali Du +1Social DilemmasMulti-Agent LLM Systems

    King’s College London London, United Kingdom · King’s College London · Turing Institute +1

  30. Learning Distributed Equilibria in Linear-Quadratic Stochastic Differential Games: An αα-Potential Approach

    Feb 18, 2026Philipp Plank, Yufei ZhangGame TheoryNash Equilibrium Computation

    Department of Mathematics, Imperial College London, London, UK