Running MyAppTemplates.com, i often find myself trawling through hundreds stories of success from the app store. I use the stories for inspiration (and the designs for ideas to use on new iphone app templates). It’s like my very own, unhealthy addiction :). I find the amazing results that designers and developers have been able to find on the platform not only motivating but liberating too. There’s nothing like being able to make money from something you created.
I’d like to share a few of the most amazing app success stories that i’ve seen so far:
Flight Control – Launched March 2009
Developers:
Firemint PTY Ltd
Estimated Revenue:
$3,000,000+
Estimated Downloads:
4,000,000+
This game puts you on the edge of your seat by placing you firmly in clutches of one of the most stressful jobs in world. An Air Traffic Controller. And boy is it addictive. Over 4 million people have downloaded the game in the three years it has been in the app store. At a price of $0.99, it has been very lucrative for its maker, Firemint.
Clear – Launched February 2012
Developers:
RealMac Software
Estimated Revenue:
$1,500,000+
Estimated Downloads:
750,000+
The minimalist to-do list app managed to sell over 350 000 copies wthin its first ten days when it was launched in February 2012. Clear is published by UK company, Realmac Software.
Pocket God – Launched January 2009
Developers:
Bolt Creative
Estimated Revenue:
$10,000,000+
Estimated Downloads:
5,000,000
Having been downloaded well over 5 million times, with constant updates from the makers, Bolt Creative. Pocket God is in position 9 on iTunes all-time best selling paid app list for a reason.
Tiny Wings – Launched February 2011
Developers:
Andreas Illiger
Estimated Revenue:
$4,500,000+
Estimated Downloads:
6,000,000+
Andreas Illiger is the one-man show behind the hit app Tiny Wings. The cute little bird is #7 on the all-time paid app list with annual revenues estimated at $4.5 million.
Skee Ball – Launched September 2009
Developers:
Freeverse
Estimated Revenue:
$2,000,000+
Estimated Downloads:
3,000,000+
One of the most downloaded paid apps in history. With a release very early in the app store’s life. It brings the addictive boardwalk game to the iPhone. Freeverse, the makers of the game, have sold 2.5 million copies of the game at 99 cents a pop and have now been acquired by Ngmoco.
SoundHound – Launched April 2010
Developers:
SoundHound Inc.
Estimated Revenue:
$10,000,000+
Estimated Downloads:
85,000,000+
Not only will this app identify a song, artist and album but it will also let you find the lyrics for the song and download it through Amazon. It can even give you gig information for the artist. The app has a free version with ads and a paid version. They have 80 million users and now handle 5 million song searches a day.
ColorSplash – Launched August 2011
Developers:
Pocket Pixels
Estimated Revenue:
$4,900,000+
Estimated Downloads:
7,000,000+
Color Splash allows you quickly and easily turns your photos into black and white leaving your chosen part of the picture in full colour for dramatic effect. The app is made by the one man show, Pocket Pixels and sells in the app store for $0.99. It is in the top 25 paid apps of all time. And is in the app store hall of fame.
Instagram – Launched October 2010
Developers:
Burbn Inc.
Estimated Revenue:
$1,000,000,000
Estimated Downloads:
60,000,000+
Instagram is that one idea that you wish you came up with. Founded in 2010 by Kevin Systrom (who could not even program when he started it) and Mike Krieger, Instagram was purchased less than 2 years later by Facebook, in a deal worth $1 billion. The company had zero revenues at the time of the purchase but i count the purchase price ($1 billion) here as the revenue they generated in the time period. Not a bad number if ask you me.
Hipstamatic – Launched December 2009
Developers:
Hipstamatic
Estimated Revenue:
$10,000,000+
Estimated Downloads:
5,000,000+
This app, takes the photos you snap with your iPhone and then transforms them into really cool retro image, with filters and other effects. Hipstamatic has generated about $10 million in revenue in 2011 and is in the iTunes Top grossing apps list of June 2012.
Flick Fishing – Launched November 2008
Developers:
Freeverse
Estimated Revenue:
$5,000,000+
Estimated Downloads:
2,500,000
Another game developed by Freeverse and was launched in November 2008. It has had over 2.5 million downloads and was named the 25th best selling game on iTunes, in 2009.
Camera+ – Launched June 2010
Developers:
taptaptap
Estimated Revenue:
$8,900,000+
Estimated Downloads:
8,000,000+
With revenues of over $8,000,000 and turning down acquisition offers from companies the likes of google and adobe, shows you that this app means business. It has only been around for two years and has already surpassed 8.5 million downloads. And this is just one among many profitable titles for the developer, taptaptap.
Angry Birds – Launched December 2009
Developers:
Rovio
Estimated Revenue:
$250,000,000+
Estimated Downloads:
1,000,000,000+
No list would be complete without what many would consider to be the ‘Michael Jordan’ of iphone games. The parent company Rovio generated revenue of $106 million in 2011, almost exclusively from angry bids. With a whopping 1 billion downloads of Angry Birds, worldwide – to date. It’s pretty clear to me that they are here to stay.
Cut the Rope – Launched October 2010
Developers:
ZeptoLabs
Estimated Revenue:
$56,000,000+
Estimated Downloads:
120,000,000+
Number 4 in the list of all-time best-selling paid apps. Cut the rope so that “Om Nom” can get his candy! It’s another simple but fun game which works particularly well on the iPhone. The app is developed by ZeptoLab and Chillingo. It has been downloaded well over 100 million times.
Draw Something – Launched February 2012
Developers:
OMGPop
Estimated Revenue:
$200,000,000+
Estimated Downloads:
100,000,000
Fifty days after its release, Draw Something had been downloaded over 50 million times and was said to be raking in $100k per day. In March of 2012, both Draw Something and Omgpop were bought by the game giant Zynga for $180 million.
FlightTrack – Launched September 2008
Developers:
Ben Kazez
Estimated Revenue:
$5,000,000+
Estimated Downloads:
2,300,000
The FlightTracker App lets users track the details of any commercial flight in the world. It provides real time departure information, delays and gate numbers in an attractive and user-friendly design. The app generated more than $1 million in sales within a year of its launch. It was developed by Ben Kazez who was amazingly just 19 years old at the time. He has since sold his company to Expedia. The app has been selling for $4.99 in the app store.
Texas Poker – Launched June 2010
Developers:
Kama Games
Estimated Revenue:
$22,000,000+
Estimated Downloads:
40,000,000+
One of the top gambling apps in the list of top grossing iPhone apps. This app was developed at Kama Games who have enjoyed revenue of over $20 million from this app alone!
Tap Zoo Classic & Tap Pet Hotel – Launched April 2011
Developers:
Pocket Gems
Estimated Revenue:
$50,000,000+
Estimated Downloads:
60,000,000+
These apps are just two in a series of “Tap” games from Pocket Gems in San Francisco. They are free downloads but they generate large portion of their revenue through a clever in-app purchases system. Users buy coins or gems in the games using real money in order to collect certain animals or complete some tasks. They have over 60 million downloads so far with a revenue that is said to be well over $50 million.
Restaurant Story – Launched October 2010
Developers:
Storm8
Estimated Revenue:
$22,000,000+
Estimated Downloads:
10,000,000+
Owner of this title, Storm8, has in 2012, recently raised $300 million at a $1 billion valuation. I’m sure the success of this app -Restaurant Story, had a big part to play in that. Restaurant Story has had over 6m downloads and makes most of it’s money from in app purchases.
Paper Toss
Developers:
Backflip Studios
Estimated Revenue:
$8,000,000+
Estimated Downloads:
8,000,000+
This games was developed by Backflip Studios from Boulder, Colorado. Papertoss has been downloaded in excess of 8 Million times. Their monthly revenue is estimated at $1 million 75% of which comes from papertoss and in app advertising resulting from it.
Akinator – Launched April 2010*
Developers:
Elokence
Estimated Revenue:
$45,000,000+
Estimated Downloads:
30,000,000+
This is one of those apps that you’re dying to show you’re friends once you’ve downloaded. Developed by a relatively unknown company from France called Elokence, this app predicts which famous person you have in mind while you’re using it. With a series of questions it has an accuracy rate about 80%, which is pretty fan-dam-tastic if you ask me 🙂
Doodle Jump – Launched April 2009
Developers:
Lima Sky
Estimated Revenue:
$16,000,000+
Estimated Downloads:
13,000,000+
This game is one of the biggest app store success stories in history with its simple, but very addicting gameplay. Doodle Jump has managed well over 10 million downloads at a price tag of $0.99. The game was developed by a small Croatian developer by the name of Lima Sky.
Fat Booth – Launched June 2010
Developers:
Pivi & Co.
Estimated Revenue:
$24,000,000+
Estimated Downloads:
35,000,000
I remember downloading this two years ago, thinking it would be a short lived, but fun, app. How wrong i was. This app is still raking it in, with millions of downloads the app sells for $0.99 and is one of top 25 best-selling paid apps of all time.
This is a post from Inspired Magazine. If you like it, you may want to subscribe to our RSS full feed to be updated on every article we’re publishing. Also, it’s highly recommended to follow us on Twitter!