Two Developers Made 14% of Mobile App Revenues in 2014

The mobile application economy in 2014 was characterized by a highly concentrated market structure, where a small number of dominant players captured a disproportionate share of total revenue. By analyzing developer payout data released by Apple and Google, it is evident that the mobile ecosystem functions as a winner-takes-all environment. Specifically, King Digital and Supercell, the developers behind major titles such as Candy Crush Saga and Clash of Clans, collectively controlled approximately 14% of the total mobile app market share during that period.

This conclusion is derived from an analysis of annualized developer payouts, which totaled roughly $24.286 billion across the Apple App Store and Google Play. While these figures highlight the massive scale of the mobile gaming sector, the data also reveals that direct app revenues represent only a minor fraction of the total revenue for both Apple and Google. For these platform operators, the app economy serves primarily as a strategic support mechanism for their core business models—hardware sales for Apple and data and advertising for Google—rather than as a primary revenue driver.

The methodology relies on comparing publicly disclosed developer payout figures from both companies against the reported financial results of King Digital and Supercell. While these estimates provide a clear picture of market concentration, the scope is limited to the Apple and Google ecosystems and excludes revenue from other platforms or specific regional markets like China. Despite these limitations, the findings underscore the extreme skew in returns within the mobile app industry, illustrating the significant competitive advantage held by top-tier developers.