The Summer Game Fest 2023 showcase has come and gone in another stretched out summer of gaming events - and it's all starting to look pretty good for Team Xbox. Late last month PlayStation delivered a show that lacked the heavy hitting announcements that its fanbase was hoping and waiting for, and now Summer Game Fest has left 2023 on a bit of whimper as well.

To be clear; there was nothing really wrong with either event. PlayStation began to lay out its live service plan with the likes of Fairgame$ and Concord, alongside delivering some major third party reveals such as the long-rumoured Metal Gear Solid 3 Remake. Over in Summer Game Fest land, we got a good look at Alan Wake 2 gameplay along with some brand-new game announcements for the likes of Sonic Superstars and Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown.

And yet, neither were A+ shows, right? We're not saying they had to be as such, but the way in which both of these big events landed certainly leaves the door open for Xbox to deliver a home run with its showcase. The mood of the room feels pretty 'meh' going into this, and if Xbox can bring a couple of major reveals alongside impressing with that already-announced Starfield blowout, it could be the talk of the town this summer.

We already spoke about this a little bit right after the PlayStation show, but now in a post-Summer Game Fest world, it actually feels like the pressure on Xbox has been relieved a little bit. We're still hoping the team can knock it out of the park of course, but in reality, all it needs to do is show a couple of big games before the Starfield Direct and it's probably onto a winning summer 2023 showcase.

As for what those reveals could be? Well, we're mostly expecting to hear about updates on already announced projects, but there's always room for a surprise or two and we're absolutely expecting Xbox to deliver on that too. In fact, you can read all about our Xbox Games Showcase predictions down below.

After an admittedly rough 18 months-or-so for Xbox and its games pipeline, it's looking like the runway has been cleared a little bit for Microsoft to lay out its future plans and impress the gaming world. The good news now is that after average PlayStation and Summer Game Fest shows, the pressure has been taken off, and the team can focus on what we all know they're capable of delivering. Bring on the showcase!

Do you think this year could be an easy win for Xbox? Drop your thoughts on the summer showcases so far down below.