Study: App Store devs could make $1.4bn in 2011

The App Store market will reach $2bn over the next twelve months, according to a new study published by consumer banking firm Citibank.

Apple takes a 30 per cent cut of all gross app revenues, including microtransactions, meaning that – if Citibank’s estimates are accurate – the App Store dev community will share $1.4 billion in sales this year alone.

App Store revenues would need to climb considerably for Citibank’s estimates to ring accurate. Last year Apple CEO Steve Jobs said the App Store made $1.4 billion in its first two years.

Yet much growth is expected to occur from the in-app (microtransaction) market, which gives developers the chance to incorporate a free-to-play games model.

Citibank says that by 2013, the entire app market should be worth around $27 billion (when combined with Android and other platforms that should emerge in the next few years).