Apple’s App Store had its best month yet in July, according to CEO Tim Cook.
In a tweet on Wednesday, Cook said that “July was a record-breaker for the App Store,” adding that Apple (AAPL) paid out more to developers in July than any previous month since the App Store launched in 2008. While Cook didn’t provide specific details on revenue or how much was paid to developers, in a follow-up tweet, he said that app-makers “have now earned over $50 billion.” That’s about the same figure Apple announced in June at his company’s Worldwide Developers Conference, when it said developers had generated $50 billion from applications since the marketplace’s debut.
Apple’s payouts to developers have been steadily growing over the years as more developers join the company’s application marketplace. It also helps that Apple now offers applications for Apple Watch and Apple TV, expanding the App Store beyond its iOS-based devices and Macs. In January, Apple announced that it had paid out nearly $40 billion between the App Store’s launch and the end of 2015.
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Exactly why July was a better month than any other is unclear at this point, but there could be one good explanation: Pokémon Go.
The mobile game that launched on both iOS and Android in early July has taken the world by storm and attracted millions of gamers worldwide. While Niantic Labs, its developer, hasn’t said exactly how many downloads its notched or how much money it’s made from the game, app-tracking company Sensor Tower reported on Tuesday that its own checks show the game has earned a cumulative $160 million in net revenue from Apple’s App Store and the Google Play marketplace.
July was a record-breaker for the @AppStore! Highest-ever monthly billings and money paid to developers.
— Tim Cook (@tim_cook) August 3, 2016
Regardless of whether Pokémon Go was responsible or not, if developers were cashing in last month, so too was Apple: the company takes 30% of all revenue generated from its paid apps and in-app purchases.
For more about Apple’s App Store, watch:
Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
