Apple Inc. said that developers have generated more than US$260 billion in revenue since the App Store launched in 2008, up about US$60 billion from the figure it reported a year ago. 

The iPhone maker made the announcement Monday as part of a summary of the performance of its digital services across 2021. The company said the App Store generated a “new yearly record for App Store developer earnings last year” and that App Store sales between Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve rose in the double digits from the same period a year ago.

Apple didn’t say how much it generated during that week in 2021 but previously said it made US$1.8 billion during that period of 2020. 

Apple said that it’s not possible to extrapolate the company’s cut of that revenue. The company’s App Store commissions have grown increasingly controversial and were an issue in its legal battle with Fortnite maker Epic Games Inc. Apple charges either 15 per cent or 30 per cent to developers, depending on how much revenue the developer generates or if the app is a subscription used for more than a year. 

Apple also said that 30 million tickets for access to events were stored and used in its Wallet app across the U.S. and Canada last year and that its Apple Books app has 100 million monthly users.