Copyedit: the game is being copyedited in full; that process can take about a month.
Pending release: we’re waiting to release the game
Pending assets: we’re waiting for the author to give us something we need to publish it
Pending Submission: we have the assets, but there are still internal production tasks to do before submitting.
Submitted to Apple: we’re waiting for Apple to approve it.
Pending external approval: we’re waiting for someone to do something
The word “production” is from the Greek for “hurry up and wait.”
To give more detail, “Submitted to Apple” means we have packaged the game into an app and submitted it to Apple. Apps do not magically appear in the iTunes Store. After submission you may wait a day, you may wait a month until the app is approved for sale. We have no way of predicting how long the review process at Apple will take.
This is also one of the many reasons why the question “When will my game come out?” is a bit like asking “Exactly what day will we land a man on Mars?” We’re going to Mars, we know we’re going to Mars. Your game is going to come out, we know it’s going to come out. Many things are impinging upon us being able to say what day it will be.