# Large Language Models and Video Games: A Preliminary Scoping Review

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2403.02613 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2403.02613/

## Key facts

- Cited by 23 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- Builds on 37 of its 88 references that are in the map.
- First posted on arXiv 5 Mar 2024.

## Builds on (most cited first, 30 of 37)

- [Generative Agents: Interactive Simulacra of Human Behavior](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2304.03442/) (2023)
- [AgentVerse: Facilitating Multi-Agent Collaboration and Exploring Emergent Behaviors](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2308.10848/) (2023)
- [Ghost in the Minecraft: Generally Capable Agents for Open-World Environments via Large Language Models with Text-based Knowledge and Memory](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2305.17144/) (2023)
- [Adapting Large Language Models by Integrating Collaborative Semantics for Recommendation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2311.09049/) (2023)
- [Recommendation as Instruction Following: A Large Language Model Empowered Recommendation Approach](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2305.07001/) (2023)
- [Language Agents with Reinforcement Learning for Strategic Play in the Werewolf Game](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2310.18940/) (2023)
- [Motif: Intrinsic Motivation from Artificial Intelligence Feedback](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2310.00166/) (2023)
- [MM-VID: Advancing Video Understanding with GPT-4V(ision)](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2310.19773/) (2023)
- [Large Language Models Play StarCraft II: Benchmarks and A Chain of Summarization Approach](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2312.11865/) (2023)
- [A Bi-Step Grounding Paradigm for Large Language Models in Recommendation Systems](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2308.08434/) (2023)
- [Octopus: Embodied Vision-Language Programmer from Environmental Feedback](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2310.08588/) (2023)
- [Level Generation Through Large Language Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2302.05817/) (2023)
- [LlamaRec: Two-Stage Recommendation using Large Language Models for Ranking](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2311.02089/) (2023)
- [Lyfe Agents: Generative agents for low-cost real-time social interactions](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2310.02172/) (2023)
- [LLM-Powered Hierarchical Language Agent for Real-time Human-AI Coordination](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2312.15224/) (2023)
- [GameGPT: Multi-agent Collaborative Framework for Game Development](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2310.08067/) (2023)
- [Large Language Models for Intent-Driven Session Recommendations](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2312.07552/) (2023)
- [GlitchBench: Can large multimodal models detect video game glitches?](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2312.05291/) (2023)
- [Practical PCG Through Large Language Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2305.18243/) (2023)
- [Language as Reality: A Co-Creative Storytelling Game Experience in 1001 Nights using Generative AI](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2308.12915/) (2023)
- [ChatGPT and Other Large Language Models as Evolutionary Engines for Online Interactive Collaborative Game Design](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2303.02155/) (2023)
- [Large Language Model Can Interpret Latent Space of Sequential Recommender](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2310.20487/) (2023)
- [FIREBALL: A Dataset of Dungeons and Dragons Actual-Play with Structured Game State Information](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2305.01528/) (2023)
- [An Appraisal-Based Chain-Of-Emotion Architecture for Affective Language Model Game Agents](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2309.05076/) (2023)
- [Assessing Logical Puzzle Solving in Large Language Models: Insights from a Minesweeper Case Study](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2311.07387/) (2023)
- [Large Language Models are Pretty Good Zero-Shot Video Game Bug Detectors](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2210.02506/) (2022)
- [Controlling Personality Style in Dialogue with Zero-Shot Prompt-Based Learning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2302.03848/) (2023)
- [VAL: Interactive Task Learning with GPT Dialog Parsing](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2310.01627/) (2023)
- [Selective Perception: Optimizing State Descriptions with Reinforcement Learning for Language Model Actors](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2307.11922/) (2023)
- [ChatGPT4PCG Competition: Character-like Level Generation for Science Birds](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2303.15662/) (2023)

## Built on by (most cited first, 23 of 23)

- [A Survey on Large Language Model-Based Game Agents](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2404.02039/) (2024)
- [GUI Agents for Continual Game Generation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2605.28258/) (2026)
- [ING-VP: MLLMs cannot Play Easy Vision-based Games Yet](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2410.06555/) (2024)
- [GPT for Games: An Updated Scoping Review (2020-2024)](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2411.00308/) (2024)
- [WhatELSE: Shaping Narrative Spaces at Configurable Level of Abstraction for AI-bridged Interactive Storytelling](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2502.18641/) (2025)
- [Game Plot Design with an LLM-powered Assistant: An Empirical Study with Game Designers](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2411.02714/) (2024)
- [Divide-Fuse-Conquer: Eliciting "Aha Moments" in Multi-Scenario Games](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2505.16401/) (2025)
- [Vox Deorum: A Hybrid LLM Architecture for 4X / Grand Strategy Game AI -- Lessons from Civilization V](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2512.18564/) (2025)
- [Sometimes Painful but Certainly Promising: Feasibility and Trade-offs of Language Model Inference at the Edge](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2503.09114/) (2025)
- [Static Vs. Agentic Game Master AI for Facilitating Solo Role-Playing Experiences](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2502.19519/) (2025)
- [PAYADOR: A Minimalist Approach to Grounding Language Models on Structured Data for Interactive Storytelling and Role-playing Games](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2504.07304/) (2025)
- [UrzaGPT: LoRA-Tuned Large Language Models for Card Selection in Collectible Card Games](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2508.08382/) (2025)
- [How LLMs are Shaping the Future of Virtual Reality](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2508.00737/) (2025)
- [StarBench: A Turn-Based RPG Benchmark for Agentic Multimodal Decision-Making and Information Seeking](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2510.18483/) (2025)
- [Strategic Insights in Human and Large Language Model Tactics at Word Guessing Games](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2409.11112/) (2024)
- [Future Research Avenues for Artificial Intelligence in Digital Gaming: An Exploratory Report](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2412.14085/) (2024)
- [High-quality generation of dynamic game content via small language models: A proof of concept](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2601.23206/) (2026)
- [RPA-Check: A Multi-Stage Automated Framework for Evaluating Dynamic LLM-based Role-Playing Agents](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2604.11655/) (2026)
- [An Exploratory Case Study of LLM-Assisted Refactoring and Gameplay Feature Generation in an Endless Runner Game](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2606.21171/) (2026)
- [Multi-Large Language Model Orchestrated Severity Assessment of Clinical Records (MOSAIC)](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2607.05032/) (2026)
- [Procedural Content Metageneration via Program Search and Continual Abstraction Discovery](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2608.17947/) (2026)
- [Oops, Not Now: PEARL, a RAG-Based Support Agent for Gameplay and What Players Want from AI Help](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2609.13718/) (2026)
- [Enforcing Narrative Reliability and Epistemic Pacing in LLM-Driven Detective Games via Structured Knowledge Trees](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2609.23043/) (2026)

## Abstract (arXiv)

Large language models (LLMs) hold interesting potential for the design, development, and research of video games. Building on the decades of prior research on generative AI in games, many researchers have sped to investigate the power and potential of LLMs for games. Given the recent spike in LLM-related research in games, there is already a wealth of relevant research to survey. In order to capture a snapshot of the state of LLM research in games, and to help lay the foundation for future work, we carried out an initial scoping review of relevant papers published so far. In this paper, we review 76 papers published between 2022 to early 2024 on LLMs and video games, with key focus areas in game AI, game development, narrative, and game research and reviews. Our paper provides an early state of the field and lays the groundwork for future research and reviews on this topic.