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Article

Games of Threats

By: Elon Kohlberg and Abraham Neyman

A game of threats on a finite set of players, N, is a function d that assigns a real number to any coalition, S ⊆ N, such that d(S) = -d(N\S). A game of threats is not necessarily a coalitional game as it may fail to satisfy the condition d(Ø) = 0. We show that analogs... View Details

Keywords: Shapley Value; Coalitional Game; Game Theory; Mathematical Methods

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October 2019 (Revised October 2019)
Case

Epic Games

By: Andy Wu and Christopher Zhang

Epic Games entered a stagnant market with its PC-games digital storefront in 2018, in the context of incumbent competitors such as Steam, its meteoric rise via Fortnite, and imminent industry shifts in gaming distribution. On the surface, Epic Games Store’s competitive... View Details

Keywords: Industry Analysis; Video Games; Platforms; Comparative Advantage; Growth Strategy; Innovation Focused Strategy; Pricing Strategy; Strategy; Competition; Growth and Development Strategy; Innovation Strategy; Games, Gaming, and Gambling; Digital Platforms; Technology Industry

August 2020 (Revised June 2021)
Case

Skillz: Esports and Skill-Based Mobile Gaming

By: Andy Wu, David B. Yoffie and George Gonzalez

Founded in 2012, Skillz offered a platform for mobile app developers to monetize skill-based games via prized tournaments. Skillz had over 20,000 registered developers that had created thousands of Skillz-powered games played by over 30 million registered users... View Details

Keywords: Video Games; Mobile; Esports; Applications and Software; Games, Gaming, and Gambling; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Growth and Development Strategy; Information Technology; Digital Platforms; United States

September 2017 (Revised July 2018)
Technical Note

Virtual Reality and the Gaming Sector 2017

By: David B. Yoffie, Natalia Prieto Nino, Prasad Raman, Brad Kowalk and Ruby Tamberino

This brief note explores the emerging possibilities of virtual reality and its potential as a gaming platform. View Details

Keywords: Virtual Reality; Gaming; Strategy; Technological Innovation; Games, Gaming, and Gambling; Technology Platform

2023
Working Paper

Personalized Game Design for Improved User Retention and Monetization in Freemium Games

By: Eva Ascarza, Oded Netzer and Julian Runge

One of the most crucial aspects and significant levers that gaming companies possess in designing digital games is setting the level of difficulty, which essentially regulates the user’s ability to progress within the game. This aspect is particularly significant in... View Details

Keywords: Freemium; Retention/churn; Field Experiment; Field Experiments; Gaming; Gaming Industry; Mobile App; Mobile App Industry; Monetization; Monetization Strategy; Games, Gaming, and Gambling; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Customers; Retention; Product Design; Strategy

June 2024 (Revised March 2025)
Case

Wemade: (Re)Establishing Trust in Blockchain Games (A)

By: Jung Koo Kang, Charles C.Y. Wang, David Allen and Kwangmoon So

This case explores the fundamental challenges and accounting issues arising from the integration of blockchain technology into traditional business models. It features Wemade, a South Korean online gaming company that has staked its future on blockchain-based games.... View Details

Keywords: Blockchain; Cryptocurrency; Video Games; Accounting; Financial Reporting; Revenue Recognition; Games, Gaming, and Gambling; Corporate Disclosure; Information Technology; Technology Adoption; Video Game Industry; Video Game Industry; Video Game Industry; South Korea

July 2007
Article

A Two-Person Game of Information Transmission

By: Jerry R. Green and Nancy L. Stokey

We consider a statistical decision problem faced by a two player organization whose members may not agree on outcome evaluations and prior probabilities. One player is specialized in gathering information and transmitting it to the other, who takes the decision. This... View Details

Keywords: Game Theory; Cheap Talk; Communication Games; Communication; Information

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Clubs

Gaming and Game Industry Club

Keywords: Entertainment / Media / Sports; Technology

May 2012
Article

Correlation in the Multiplayer Electronic Mail Game

By: Peter A. Coles and Ran Shorrer

In variants of the Electronic Mail Game (Rubinstein, 1989) where two or more players communicate via multiple channels, the multiple channels can facilitate collective action via redundancy, the sending of the same message along multiple paths or else repeatedly along... View Details

Keywords: Electronic Mail Game; Stag Hunt; Coordination; Signaling; Networks; Behavior; Communication; Trust; Game Theory

10 Mar 2021
News

Elevator Pitch: Game Time

Video Embed Animation by Drue Wagner and Troubadour Image + Sound Concept: Tilt Five is an entertainment system that uses augmented reality (AR) glasses, a game board, and a wand controller to engage players in tabletop and video View Details

Keywords: AI; virtual reality; gaming; technology; entrepreneurship; startups; Amusement, Gambling, and Recreation Industries; Arts, Entertainment

December 2024
Case

Tencent Games

By: Rebecca Karp, Billy Chan and Nancy Hua Dai

For years, Tencent Games, a division of China’s largest internet company, had taken the lion’s share of revenue in the global gaming market with blockbuster titles such as “League of Legends” and “PUBG: Battlegrounds.” These games defined the game genres that they... View Details

Keywords: Decisions; Games, Gaming, and Gambling; Collaborative Innovation and Invention; Innovation and Management; Innovation Strategy; Growth and Development Strategy; Product Development; Organizational Culture; Business Strategy; Investment; Competitive Strategy; Video Game Industry; Europe; China

2017
Chapter

High Stakes Negotiation: Indian Gaming and Tribal/State Compacts

By: Gavin Clarkson and James K. Sebenius

Although Indian tribes and the surrounding states were often bitter enemies throughout much of the history of the United States, recently tribes and states have been able to work cooperatively in a number of areas. In some instances, Congress has mandated such... View Details

Keywords: Indian Gaming; Negotiation; Regulation; Tribal Sovereignty; Sovereign Finance; Negotiation Participants; Relationships; Cooperation; Connecticut

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November 2006
Background Note

Technical Game Theory Note #1: Solving Bi-matrix Games

By: Dennis A. Yao

Explains how to solve bi-matrix games and introduces the Nash Equilibrium concept. View Details

Keywords: Game Theory; Mathematical Methods; Learning; Balance and Stability; Planning; Strategic Planning; Performance Improvement; Strategy; Games, Gaming, and Gambling

April 2014
Article

The Cost of High-Powered Incentives: Employee Gaming in Enterprise Software Sales

By: Ian Larkin

This paper investigates the pricing distortions that arise from the use of a common non-linear incentive scheme at a leading enterprise software vendor. The empirical results demonstrate that salespeople are adept at gaming the timing of deal closure to take advantage... View Details

Keywords: Incentives; Motivation; Compensation; Gaming; Sales Force Management; Motivation and Incentives; Salesforce Management; Software; Compensation and Benefits; Information Technology Industry

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July 2024
Case

Google Stadia: Game On or Game Over?

By: Derek C. M. van Bever and Akshat Agrawal

This case explores Google leadership's decision to pursue its cloud gaming innovation, Google Stadia, following disappointing early uptake by premium videogamers, the segment of the market that Google had targeted. Google had invested substantial resources and time... View Details

Keywords: Technological Innovation; Product Development; Leadership; Segmentation; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Video Game Industry

19 Oct 2017
Working Paper Summaries

Games of Threats

Keywords: by Elon Kohlberg and Abraham Neyman; Education

February 2007 (Revised August 2007)
Case

Urban Video Game Academy: Getting in the Game

By: Lynda M. Applegate and Susan Saltrick

Urban Video Game Academy was founded to enhance the academic and career prospects of urban youth. How will its founder grow it into a sustainable business? Provides an opportunity to discuss the challenges of social entrepreneurship and how to create a sustainable... View Details

Keywords: Social Entrepreneurship; Business Model; Social Enterprise; Change Management; Education; Video Game Industry; Video Game Industry

November 2006
Background Note

Technical Game Theory Note #6: Multiple-Round Games and Reputations

By: Dennis A. Yao

Provides a game theory-based interpretation of reputations and reputation building. View Details

Keywords: Game Theory; Mathematical Methods; Games, Gaming, and Gambling; Reputation; Debates; Strategy; Performance Consistency; Performance Improvement; Strategic Planning; Education Industry

01 Mar 2024
News

Game On

It’s raining in Sarasota. And not a light sprinkle but a proper, Florida drenching, so the outdoor courts at the Pickleball Club’s Lakewood Ranch location are deserted. Inside is a different story. Most of the 12 courts are in play. With four people to a court, all... View Details

Keywords: Jen McFarland Flint; photographed by Edward Linsmier; Amusement, Gambling, and Recreation Industries; Arts, Entertainment

2017
Working Paper

Cooperative Strategic Games

By: Elon Kohlberg and Abraham Neyman

We examine a solution concept, called the “value," for n-person strategic games. In applications, the value provides an a-priori assessment of the monetary worth of a player's position in a strategic game, comprising not only the player's contribution to the total... View Details

Keywords: Game Theory

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