iPhone game The Heist sells 500,000 downloads in its first week

Developer Tap Tap Tap rakes in more than $300,000 from its collection of puzzles.

Developer Tap Tap Tap has made more than $300,000 from its iPhone puzzle game The Heist in just seven days since its release on 24 May.

The company announced the news on its blog, revealing that in that first week, the game sold 501,813 copies at $0.99 / £0.59 a pop - meaning more than $495,000 of gross revenues, and over $346,000 once Apple took its 30% share.

"Makes us wonder if we outsold the entire paid Android marketplace this week," notes Tap Tap Tap's Phill Ryu in a blog post, which goes on to explain some of the key factors in The Heist's first-week success.

That includes teasers placed within the official Twitter for Mac app, which could be accessed by buyers of the company's MacHeist bundle. Tap Tap Tap also has a mailing list of 500,000 people, who it promoted the game to with an iPad 2 giveaway competition.

However, Ryu identifies word-of-mouth buzz on blogs and Twitter as a key component in the success, fuelled by the fact that a mystery game is given away to everyone who completes The Heist. "It seems like our customers enjoy selling the app as a unique experience to friends without spoiling the gotcha moments and vault loot surprise," he writes.