Alphabet and Google CEO Sundar Pichai is expected to testify in Epic Games’s lawsuit against Google in a US court next week. The Fortnite game developer seeks to call Pichai as a witness to make its case alleging that Google Play is an unlawful monopoly.
According to reports, Google requested to use a podium in the courtroom on Tuesday, suggesting that Pichai may indeed appear to testify.
Pichai had previously stood behind a podium because of back issues last month in the US vs. Google case. The lawsuit was filed after Google removed Fortnite from the Play store, with Epic arguing that Google’s monopolistic control violates both state and federal antitrust laws.
Google offered a $147 million deal to Epic Games to launch Fortnite on the Google Play store, but it was not accepted. The deal would have seen the money dispensed over a three-year period, with Google justifying the offer citing potential revenue loss for both Epic and Google.
The trial of Epic vs Google began this week on Monday, with Google defending its 30% cut on transactions for apps via its Play store. Sundar Pichai’s potential testimony has captured the attention of the tech community.