I made a game (Super Mario clone) in 2009 localized to my language only for Mobile (with Unity lol) and published on the local (non US) app stores.
For $2, sold 23k copies.
Then I did a game about basketball “free throws” for iPads, again I avoided global stores…
Sold 61k copies for $1 and appeared on some mobile games front pages; but Glu Mobile kept most of the revenue.
The money I made I invested in a more ambitious project RPG and went without a publisher to the “global iOS” (US Store)… Spent everything on Unity Pro licenses and assets.
Didn’t sell a sht, lost my money, rage quit, migrated to UE4 and looked for a job lol
I didn’t try that again because by that time was already 2014 and mobile market was already flooded.