Games in the App Store earn more money compared to Google Play, but Apple’s mobile platform does not guarantee high and stable incomes for most iOS title developers. According to the analytical company Apptopia, the revenue of games in the App Store quickly peaks and falls, and three-quarters of all revenue comes from the top 50 box office titles of the store.
Apptopia’s findings are based on a study of the App Store in the US that lasted from 2014 to 2017. Currently, more than 800 thousand titles are available in the App Store. According to the report, 76% of all gaming revenue generates 0.007% of the total number of games presented in the store.
At the same time, the rating of the 50 highest-grossing App Store games is constantly updated. According to Apptopia, on average, games don’t stay there longer than 27 days. 66% of the games that get there leave the rating after 5 days or less, and 33% of titles last only 1 day.
During the Apptopia study, 119 games were in the top 50 for more than 100 days, 38 for more than 500 days, and 19 titles stayed in it for more than 1000 days.
Only a small number of games remain in the top 50 unchanged. These are Clash of Clans, Candy Crush Saga, Game of War — Fire Age and 3 unnamed mobile casinos have never dropped out of the box office rating of the American App Store while there was surveillance.
The revenue of the game application directly depends on the position in the rating. If the game does not reach the first 25 lines of the list, its daily earnings average $ 50 thousand, while the top five generates up to $750 thousand in revenue per day.
Daily earnings of titles in the top 50 highest-grossing App Store games in the USA, Apptopia
Apptopia points out that getting into the App Store box office rating promises developers considerable benefits, but there are no guarantees that the game will be able to stay there for a sufficient period to recoup the investment and bring the creators profit.
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