Facebook’s Gaming Chief No Longer Testifying in Epic-Apple Trial

(Bloomberg) -- Facebook Inc.’s top gaming executive is no longer testifying on behalf of Epic Games Inc. in the upcoming trial with Apple Inc. over developer fees, according to court filings.

Vivek Sharma, Facebook’s vice president of gaming, was scheduled to testify on behalf of the Fortnite maker in the trial beginning in early May before Epic dropped him this week from its list of witnesses.

Court filings don’t explain why Epic decided to not to seek testimony from Sharma, and the company declined to comment. Sharma had previously criticized Apple’s in-app-purchase fees.

Apple had complained that Epic didn’t give enough advance notice about calling Sharma as a witness. A magistrate judge didn’t address Apple’s concern and asked the iPhone maker to take the matter up with the federal district judge overseeing the case.

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