This is not some wacky sci-fi narrative. Our world may as well be a simulation – a computer program run indefinitely. Outside of this statement, though, there is a lot of fun to have in the present, and particularly through virtual reality (VR).

VR tech is a gateway to proving or, in fact, disproving whether our reality is a simulation. The good news is that it’s not going to be proven until after 100 years into the future – or so. In any event, the question game developers are asking today is whether virtual reality is truly going to pervade every aspect of the gaming experience, not whether we are all made of pixels.

The most likely answer, though, is yes (to the fact that VR is going to be everywhere). VR just tends to make things better, from immersing us in new worlds to elevating even the most mundane and humble experience to new heights. Where is VR going to arrive next, then?

Traditional Games Are Already Packing VR Elements

If you go on any major digital game store, and specifically Steam Store, you will be able to find hundreds of titles that are built specifically for VR and there are quite a few that actually already push the experience up a notch.

From shooting down dragons to teleporting yourself or pushing cubes, fighting off zombies to creating your own scenarios and simulated realities, tech is advancing in leap and bounds and this is not an overstatement. The Unreal Engine now lets you dabble with the structure of a game directly in a virtual reality setting, which won’t only change gaming – it will change what being a game designer and a coder means to begin with. And virtual worlds will definitely be easier to create in a VR setting to begin with. After all, the industry has been huffing and puffing for years now towards the goal of creating the most photorealistic graphics possible, and the answer might be within our reach.

Meanwhile, are other forms of gaming entertainment where you can see VR tech delivered with an enviable degree of success as well.

Virtual Reality in Other Forms of Gaming

Online casinos are in fact also the beneficiaries of great technologies. NetEnt, a popular Swedish developer of slot, table and live games, introduced its first virtual reality games back in 2016, making it one of the first studios to have done so.

Admittedly, VR is not really so popular in the iGaming and casino industries yet, although many casinos are keeping their eyes peeled and definitely won’t miss out on a chance that could lead to a highly-popular new form of entertainment. Yet, even the biggest brands remain smart about that as regulators will also question whether the level of immersion isn’t going to spur a higher incidence of gambling addiction. These legal wrinkles, though, are best left to the competent authorities to iron out.

In the meantime, brands such as PokerStars have already introduced a virtual reality lobby, which some of the world’s leading players have embraced and said can be quite a bit of fun. Despite this, it has been a far cry from the poker industry expecting heavy VR poker activity on the horizon.

A New Form of Entertainment Looms

While we have become accustomed to immersing ourselves in virtual worlds, we have not yet had the opportunity to actually be surrounded by a dreamt-up world. Even when visiting the movie theatre to attend a 3D projection, that is hardly as visually impressive as you imagine the first time you hear about it.

Yet, virtual reality (VR) is about to spur its own revolution in 21st-century entertainment. One point that many observes raise though is that we know nothing about it. Sci-fi writers have hypothesized about a time when we will immerse ourselves in a computer world and seek new experiences – or even transcend our corporeal shells we call our bodies so readily.

However, until VR is adopted in full, we cannot be entirely certain what that entails. Even the games you can download on Steam might end up giving you a headache rather than making you feel like you are part of a transcendent world. But this is just a first step in the immense journey that is realizing the potential of virtual reality and how it’s going to change the entertainment industry.

Avoid the Economic Costs of Pandemics Such as the Coronavirus

Virtual reality need not be just a self-serving and ingratiating form of entertainment. The technology is already used to train pilots, astronauts and other professionals who work under great strain and stress, making it rather difficult for them to learn on the job, as it were.

Similarly, VR can offset losses to a lot of establishments such as casinos in Macau. At the beginning of 2020, casinos had to shut down in the China controlled special administration zone – a huge blow to the economy of Macau.

Yet, in future, technology such as VR would help offset the financial costs by providing players a new and equally entertaining way to visit the tables at one of the world’s biggest gambling hubs.

Gaming with VR – Not a Possibility in Future

While we are still thinking on the lines of analogous gaming, things are going to change. They are not, however, going to change in some uncanny dystopian way. The weaving in of VR into our gaming experiences will come gradually and step-by-step. There won’t be an abrupt change in how we perceive the world whereby one day we will wake up and we will all be sucked in a VR unable to return. There are dangers, certainly though. Especially when conjuring a world with the snap of the fingers can prove more satisfying than the one we are currently inhabiting. This, of course, sends us back to our original statement at the beginning – that we could be inhabiting a simulated reality.

The very notion sends chills down one’s spine for sure. But for now, outside of speculation, there has been no definitive proof. So, what is left is to embrace VR technology and use it as we best see fit. Whether this is to create escapist worlds or do some good – that’s up to us.