Apple today announced that the App Store has reached another milestone, passing 40 billion downloads since its launch in 2008. The pace of downloads continues to accelerate, with nearly half of those downloads coming in 2012. 

Apple now has 500 million user accounts for the App Store, and set a record with over two billion downloads during the month of December.

“It has been an incredible year for the iOS developer community,” said Eddy Cue, Apple’s senior vice president of Internet Software and Services. “Developers have made over seven billion dollars on the App Store, and we continue to invest in providing them with the best ecosystem so they can create the most innovative apps in the world.”

Apple notes that there are now over 775,000 apps available in the App Store and highlights the success of a number of developers including Temple Run's Imangi Studios, Autodesk, and others.

In 2012, the husband and wife team at Imangi Studios saw their game Temple Run downloaded more than 75 million times; Backflip Studios and Supercell, two emerging game development studios, brought in over $100 million combined for their leading freemium titles DragonVale and Clash of Clans; and emerging services including Uber, Flipboard, HotelTonight, and AirBnB attracted millions of users on iOS. Companies including Electronic Arts, Ubisoft, Autodesk, Marvel and Major League Baseball continued to expand their iOS offerings, while developers like JJ Abrams’ Bad Robot Interactive and Bottle Rocket Apps continued to push the boundaries of what iOS apps can do.