Autonomous driving is an active area of research in the automotive market. The development of automated functions such as highway driving, autonomous parking etc. requires a robust platform for development and safety qualification of the system. In this context, virtual simulation platforms are key enablers for development of algorithms, software and hardware components. In this paper, we discuss multiple virtual simulation platforms such as open source car simulators, commercial automotive vendors and gaming platforms that are available in the market. We discuss the key factors that make the virtual platform suitable for automated driving function development. Based on the analysis of various simulation platforms, we end the paper with a proposal of two stage approach for the automated driving functionality development.