Today, the impact of virtual reality (VR) and virtual experiences on our lives is growing. Virtual environments are used in psychological therapy and skills training, which can be applied in real-life situations. The aim of the article is to compare two positions, i.e., virtual realism and virtual fictionalism, which attribute different ontological and epistemological statuses to virtual reality. According to realists, virtual reality is a genuine reality, where the subject directly interacts with the virtual environment and objects without having to imagine that these objects exist. Fictionalists, on the other hand, believe that virtual environments and objects do not exist in reality, and interaction with them is based on a make-believe game relying on imagination. The article argues that virtual experience is not identical to fictional experience. Contrary to fictionalists, virtual experience is not based on imagination and significantly differs from engaging with fiction. Instead of explaining virtual experience as a make-believe game, it is more natural to describe it in terms of real interaction between the user and the interactive virtual environment