Apple has today announced that the App Store has surpassed a whopping 40 billion downloads, with almost 20 million seen in 2012 alone. A record-breaking December, helped by another successful Christmas, boosted this year’s figures, with more than two billion downloads during the month.
“It has been an incredible year for the iOS developer community,” said Eddy Cue, Apple’s Senior Vice President of Internet Software and Services. “Developers have made over seven billion dollars on the App Store, and we continue to invest in providing them with the best ecosystem so they can create the most innovative apps in the world.”
The App Store is now home to more than 775,000 apps for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch, and it’s paid out over $7 billion to iOS developers since it opened its doors back in 2008. One of its most successful titles in 2012 was Temple Run from Imangi Studios, which racked up more than 75 million downloads.
“The success of our game Temple Run in 2012 was nothing short of astonishing,” said Keith Shepherd, co-founder of Imangi Studios. “We were simply looking to create a game that was fun and easy to play, but once it hit the App Store, the game took off. This past year, we saw more than 75 million downloads of Temple Run on iOS.”
Backflip Studios and Supercell, two emerging game studios, brought in over $100 million combined for their “freemium” titles DragonVale and Clash of Clans, Apple said in its press release. Services like Uber, Flipboard, HotelTonight, and AirBnB have also been incredibly popular, attracting millions of new users.
Bad Robot Interactive’s JJ Abrams, the developer of Action Movie FX, Apple’s App of the Year, said that the App Store “provided us with opportunities beyond our wildest dreams. Our app Action Movie FX was designed to bring Hollywood special effects to anyone’s self-made video, whether that be on an iPhone, iPad or iPod touch, and we’re just thrilled that millions of fans around the world were as excited as we were about the possibilities that this app brings.”
The App Store is now open in 155 countries around the world, offering apps in categories like games, business, news, sport, health & fitness, and travel.
Source: Apple
