mlsanityData to 14 Oct 2026

Agents Play Thousands of 3D Video Games

arXiv 2503.13356 ↗First posted 17 Mar 2025cs.LGcited by 9

On the map: LLM agents and tool use → Reinforcement learning for LLM agents

Abstract (arXiv)

We present PORTAL, a novel framework for developing artificial intelligence agents capable of playing thousands of 3D video games through language-guided policy generation. By transforming decision-making problems into language modeling tasks, our approach leverages large language models (LLMs) to generate behavior trees represented in domain-specific language (DSL). This method eliminates the computational burden associated with traditional reinforcement learning approaches while preserving strategic depth and rapid adaptability. Our framework introduces a hybrid policy structure that combines rule-based nodes with neural network components, enabling both high-level strategic reasoning and precise low-level control. A dual-feedback mechanism incorporating quantitative game metrics and vision-language model analysis facilitates iterative policy improvement at both tactical and strategic levels. The resulting policies are instantaneously deployable, human-interpretable, and capable of generalizing across diverse gaming environments. Experimental results demonstrate PORTAL's effectiveness across thousands of first-person shooter (FPS) games, showcasing significant improvements in development efficiency, policy generalization, and behavior diversity compared to traditional approaches. PORTAL represents a significant advancement in game AI development, offering a practical solution for creating sophisticated agents that can operate across thousands of commercial video games with minimal development overhead. Experiment results on the 3D video games are best viewed on https://zhongwen.one/projects/portal .

Key facts. Cited by 9 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026). Placed in Reinforcement learning for LLM agents, one of 16 directions in LLM agents and tool use. Builds on 16 of its 29 references that are in the map. First posted on arXiv 17 Mar 2025.

Builds on

16 of 29 references.

Closest ancestors · 2

Same direction, newest first

  1. 2023Large Language Models Play StarCraft II: Benchmarks and A Chain of Summarization Approach19 Dec
  2. 2023Voyager: An Open-Ended Embodied Agent with Large Language Models25 May

Other references · 14

  1. 2023GPT-4 Technical Reportcited by 18,396
  2. 2017Proximal Policy Optimization Algorithmscited by 15,215
  3. 2022Chain-of-Thought Prompting Elicits Reasoning in Large Language Modelscited by 12,459
  4. 2022ReAct: Synergizing Reasoning and Acting in Language Modelscited by 8,695
  5. 2023Toolformer: Language Models Can Teach Themselves to Use Toolscited by 4,182
  6. 2024Gemini 1.5: Unlocking multimodal understanding across millions of tokens of contextcited by 3,224
  7. 2023ToolLLM: Facilitating Large Language Models to Master 16000+ Real-world APIscited by 1,947
  8. 2019Dota 2 with Large Scale Deep Reinforcement Learningcited by 1,103
  9. 2018IMPALA: Scalable Distributed Deep-RL with Importance Weighted Actor-Learner Architecturescited by 883
  10. 2019Mastering Complex Control in MOBA Games with Deep Reinforcement Learningcited by 161
  11. 2025Towards System 2 Reasoning in LLMs: Learning How to Think With Meta Chain-of-Thoughtcited by 109
  12. 2017Behavior Trees in Robotics and AI: An Introductioncited by 107
2 more
  1. 2024Large Language Models and Games: A Survey and Roadmapcited by 93
  2. 2023Can Large Language Models Play Text Games Well? Current State-of-the-Art and Open Questionscited by 30

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Cited by year (2026 to 14 Oct)

Citing papers per year: 2025: 5; 2026: 4.

9 papers.

Similar, not cited

Close in wording, no citation either way

  1. 2025Learning Game-Playing Agents with Generative Code Optimization
  2. 2024A Survey on Large Language Model-Based Game Agents
  3. 2025GVGAI-LLM: Evaluating Large Language Model Agents with Infinite Games
  4. 2025Cultivating Game Sense for Yourself: Making VLMs Gaming Experts
  5. 2025PolicyEvolve: Evolving Programmatic Policies by LLMs for multi-player games via Population-Based Training
  6. 2024Large Language Models as Agents in Two-Player Games
  7. 2026Modular Discovery of General Game-Playing Algorithms with Large Language Models
  8. 2026NitroGen: An Open Foundation Model for Generalist Gaming Agents