While classical driving simulators have for decades been a valuable tool for the investigation of human behaviour and validation of advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS), the development of pedestrian simulators is still in its beginning stages. However, with an increasing complexity of ADAS, it is not sufficient anymore to evaluate those uniquely from the perspective of a driver using driving simulators. Mainly based on motion tracking and virtual reality (VR) technology, pedestrian simulators are used to investigate human behaviour from the pedestrian perspective especially in urban traffic scenarios in a reproducible, safe, and cost-efficient way. This paper will help researchers starting off in this research field to gain insight into the state of the art of technology. It explains the potential and possible areas of application of this particular simulator paradigm and gives a detailed overview of some of the technologically most advanced virtual reality simulators used by various research institutes for pedestrian investigations.