Image Credit: Apple

Apple begins the week in a generous spirit, offering free apps and games at the App Store. Just two of several freebies include Traktor DJ (regularly $20) and Infinity Blade II (regularly $7). Apple has not formally launched a promotion campaign with these giveaways, but several reporters like Sam Byford of TheVerge believe these offerings may be in conjunction with the upcoming App Store Anniversary on July 10^th.

Since its launch in 2008, the App Store has received over 50 billion downloads. In an earlier commemorative promotion, Apple awarded the user that made the 50 billionth download a $10,000 gift card. The next 50 customers received a $500 App Store gift card. Ina Fried notes that the App Store has become “big business for Apple,” indeed, as it has paid over $9 billion to app developers.

Although there is significantly less fanfare associated with its current giveaway, the App Store certainly has much to celebrate for 5 years of growth. Since opening in 2008 (with the launch of the iPhone 3G), the App Store went from offering 500 apps, to over 850,000 currently available to download. Some critics have suggested that App Store is “cumbersomely large” with inefficient organization. Still, Lauren Goode of AllThingsD suggests the App Store is responsible for sparking unprecedented and widespread consumer interest in mobile purchasing stating, “the iPhone and App Store combined have arguably changed everything and set off massive reverberations still being felt across the tech sector.

The Wall Street Journal highlighted the following free downloads:

Apps

Barefoot World Atlas

Day One

How to Cook Everything

Over

Traktor DJ (iPad and iPhone)

Games

Badland

Infinity Blade II

Superbrothers: Sword & Sworcery EP

Tiny Wings (iPad and iPhone)

Where’s My Water?