App Store dev payout soars past $4 billion

iOS app developers have collectively made more than $4 billion in sales, Apple has claimed.

The iPhone last night shook Wall Street with a show-stopping earnings report, in which it revealed it had overall made $13 billion profit for the three months ending December 31st.

But the message for games developers was equally compelling – total App Store revenues have cleanly passed $5 billion, with app creators making $4 billion and Apple taking its 30 per cent cut.

The rate of app earnings appears to be accelerating, with the developer pay-out climbing by $1 billion since October.

From July to October, total app revenues rose by about half that, at $500 million.

The rate of growth within the App Store does not necessarily suggest developers are individually enjoying the same success. The sheer number of games available on the App Store is enough to stretch even $4 billion thin.

In September, a study published by smartphone analyst firm Distimo claimed that the huge bulk of App Store cash comes from a relatively small crop of apps.

Only four per cent of iOS applications utilise in-app purchases, Distimo said, but these few products account for 72 per cent of total App Store revenues.

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Last year Apple revised baseline app prices, with standard prices edging upwards in many countries.