Since the first Oculus Rift prototype was designed in 2010, the growth of virtual reality in the gaming industry has been nothing short of extraordinary. The market has never been healthier when it comes to VR headsets with the likes of Google, HTC, Samsung, Sony, and many more, developing and releasing their very own devices. Whilst virtual reality is on course to impact numerous sectors, the gaming world has been at the very centre of virtual reality advancements.
“Anna Bashmakova and Oculus Rift” (CC BY-SA 2.0) by Sergey Galyonkin
Valve Corporation’s digital Steam platform is one of the leading digital platforms for video games and over recent years, the platform has continued its development in attempts to become compatible with many VR devices. Although such devices have been available for several years now, Steam’s virtual reality market continues to flourish. In May of this year, the platform saw a 0.04 percent increase in Oculus Rift devices being used by gamers whilst the device itself accounts for 0.46 per cent of the VR headsets being used generally. Additionally, the HTC Vive also recorded an increase with a growth of 0.03 per cent. Moreover, Sony has introduced the PlayStation VR which seeks to allow traditional console gamers to also enjoy the powers of virtual reality.
Alongside the progression on the traditional platforms, mobile gaming is becoming increasingly popular and looking to integrate virtual reality into their developments. Samsung’s latest release, the Galaxy S10, is one of their many smartphones that is compatible with their Samsung Gear VR which seeks to bring virtual reality to life with a Super AMOLED display. Moreover, the device allows for users to bring to life many games across genres such as open world and mobile casinos. Much like the virtual reality market, the mobile casino industry is ever-expanding on smartphone devices. With many mobile casinos continuing to develop their virtual reality compatibility, users can now enjoy an immersive casino experience whilst also still receiving the same incentive-based offers that are available such as free spins, no deposits and new player bonuses on offer at Oddschecker for instance.
“Samsung Gear VR” (CC BY 2.0) by pestoverde
Ultimately, whilst virtual reality is still largely considered as a work in progress amongst many different industries, the gaming sector has really taken to the concept and looks to base its future developments around an immersive user experience. Although it remains to be seen how far the gaming industry can go with virtual reality, it seems undeniably apparent that it will be vital to the future of gaming.