Nearly 2,000 app and mobile game developers make more than a million dollars a year, according to a report from Pollen VC and Priori Data. The data in the study shows revenues from paid/premium apps and in-app purchase revenues only and is based on estimated revenues for Q2 2015.
- There were more iOS developers in the $1 million club at 1,260 compared to Android, whose millionaire developers number 759.
- Games dominate both platforms, comprising 78 percent of millionaire developers.
- 45 percent of all app store revenues are made by publishers outside of the Top 100.
- $2.3B has been made by so called 'Long Tail' developers in the last 12 months.
We're always hearing that the app stores are overpopulated and it's impossible for new developers to make real money. However, the reality is that more developers are building successful businesses in the App Economy than ever before," the report says. "With the right monetization and marketing strategy, 'Long Tail' mobile developers can thrive in the App Economy."
Did somebody say 'Ka-ching?" Leave it to Pollen VC, which is in the business of facilitating app store payments to developers, to offer one of the most hopeful and optimistic takes on monetization in quite some time. Though you could continue to take the glass half-empty perspective and consider the vast number of devs who fall below Vision Mobile's app poverty line of making less than $500 per month, this study suggests it may be worth sticking it out. In this case, "long tail" may mean different lengths of time for different developers, but it suggests that continuing to fine-tune the way you monetize apps and games via ads or in-app purchases could pay off.
For more:
- see the full report here
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