2016 has been widely declared to be the year in which virtual reality takes over mainstream gaming culture with highly publicised launches from fledgling ventures such as Oculus Rift, HTC Vive and the Sony PlayStation VR.

But whilst much of last year was taken up with the hype around first-person shooters like Destiny, and the open-world possibilities of this summer’s No Man’s Sky continue to bolster the endeavours of next-gen consoles, it seems that virtual reality gaming could be taking a different path.

With a host of software companies from online casino firms to surgery simulators seeking to take advantage of this pioneering technology, it seems that the genres of virtual reality gaming could push the boundaries of the traditional gaming universe.

While games like the fantasy adventure Starseed and the platformer Lucky Tale prove there are certain gaming concepts that are never going to go away, certain VR titles seems to be willing to take a few more risks.

One interesting game is Oculus Rift’s Dragon Front that’s a turn-based collectible card game, and whilst that might not sound riveting, the immersive graphical properties and in-depth strategising has signalled that virtual reality may not be all about high-octane action.

This will definitely lend the appeal of VR to other niche gaming areas with the possibilities of playing live video poker at a site like Euro Palace suddenly seeming much more atmospheric.

A big part of the appeal of such sites is the way that they are able to recreate an authentic casino experience with high-quality visuals and sound, as well as a live dealer who can guide you through the game play. And with such innovation being placed in a three-dimensional artificial universe, it’s clear how highly regarded virtual reality has become for gaming software developers.

Already the blog at the Euro Palace site has shown that the modern gaming company is about so much more than mere gaming, and with the rise of multiplayer tournaments, social networking opportunities and lucrative monetisation of modern gaming, the sheer range of entertainment options surrounding the humble game has truly become fascinating to observe.

Further to this is the fact that innovative games like Surgeon Simulator give players the chance to perform alien surgeries on Mars which just goes some way to showing the imaginative capacities of our virtual reality gaming futures!