The Epic Games v Apple trial is starting to wind down after several long weeks of testimonials in court. One issue Apple has raised during this time is Microsoft’s testimony in court, during which it was claimed that Microsoft has never made a profit selling Xbox consoles. Apple is trying to get this particular testimony struck from the proceedings.

A couple of weeks ago, Apple’s legal team requested an “adverse credibility finding” against the testimony of Lori Wright, Microsoft’s VP of gaming, media and entertainment. Now, Apple is bringing this back up again, with another filing claiming that Microsoft is secretly behind Epic Games’ lawsuit.

As reported by Bloomberg, Apple is claiming that Microsoft is using Epic Games as a “stalking horse”, a term used to describe an entity using a third-party to challenge an idea or concept in order to gauge the reaction. This is essentially an accusation that Microsoft is the puppet master behind Epic Games legal battle with Apple.

Apple also previously took issue with Microsoft’s lack of supplied documentation to support Wright’s testimony in certain aspects, such as the claim that Xbox console sales are not or have never been profitable. Microsoft of course denies these claims, labelling them as a way to distract from the legitimate concerns that were raised during trial, such as the treatment of game streaming services on iOS versus the treatment of TV/film streaming services.

KitGuru Says: The judge hasn’t made any decisions yet, but Apple is very keen to get Microsoft’s testimony thrown out before this lawsuit comes to a conclusion. Tim Cook is taking the stand today, so we should get more news out of this trial over the coming days. 

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