Who developed game theory as a mathematical field?
The normal-form table illustrates the concept of a saddlepoint, or entry, in a payoff matrix at which the expected gain of each participant (row or column) has the highest guaranteed payoff.
Game theory as a formal mathematical field was primarily developed by the Hungarian-born American mathematician John von Neumann and the German-born American economist Oskar Morgenstern.1
While von Neumann published a foundational paper on the subject, "Theory of Parlor Games," in 1928—in which he proved the mini-max theorem—the field was established as a comprehensive framework through their collaborative 1944 book, The Theory of Games and Economic Behavior. In this work, they argued that traditional mathematics used in the physical sciences was insufficient for economics, which requires analyzing interdependent decision-making similar to strategic games.2341
The field was further expanded in the 1950s by the American mathematician John Nash, who established additional mathematical principles for analyzing rivalries between competitors with mixed interests.1