Apple: Developers Raked in $260B from App Store Since 2008

Developers earned $260 billion from the Apple App Store since its launch in 2008, with a record increase of roughly $60 billion in 2021 alone, Apple said in a recent blog post. The App store ecosystem facilitated $643 billion in billings and sales during 2020, a 24 percent year-over-year increase.

Apple said that in the week between Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve, App Store sales reached record, double-digit levels in 2021 compared to the same week in 2020. Apple didn’t reveal its earnings for the same week, but in 2020 the tech giant earned $1.8 billion during the same time period.

See also: UK Regulator Advocates Change to Google, Apple’s ‘Vice-Like Grip’ on Mobile App Ecosystems

“With over 745 million paid subscriptions, Apple continues to connect the world’s developers, artists, and storytellers with users across more than a billion devices, delivering powerful tools, content, and experiences that enrich their lives in profound ways every day,” said Eddy Cue, Apple’s senior vice president of Services.

Apple’s commission take of 15% or 30% on apps sold exclusively in its App Store has been in the spotlight of controversy in the U.S. and abroad, fueled by lawsuits filed by Epic Games, maker of the interactive streaming game Fortnite.

The App Store’s global platform connects businesses of all sizes with over 600 million people each week across 175 countries. The money earned by developers from App Store sales is just “one meaningful marker of how the ecosystem continues to create opportunities and drive economic expansion for entrepreneurs around the world,” the iPhone maker said in the post.

Read more: Federal Judge Orders Apple to Open App Store Payments as Planned

An independent study by economists from the Analysis Group — A Global Perspective on the Apple App Store Ecosystem — indicated that small developers (less than 1 million downloads and earning under $1 million annually from all apps) on an international scale grew 40 percent since 2015 and comprise over 90 percent of App Store developers.

Apple Arcade — a bone of contention among developers — saw its biggest growth last year and now offers more than 200 “family-friendly games.” The games can be shared with up to five family members using Family Sharing with a single, all-inclusive subscription.

Apple Music also expanded, offering more than 90 million songs from all over the world, available in “lossless audio, so that fans can hear music the way artists created it.”

“Spatial audio with Dolby Atmos and support for dynamic head tracking have ushered in the next generation of sound, providing artists the ability to deliver immersive audio experiences with exceptional clarity, while bringing listeners deeper into their all-time and new favorite songs.”