Rubber Duck Software

What Rubber Duck Software does

Rubber Duck Software is a Melbourne, Australia-based independent game development studio founded by Jake Marsh (Founder, Lead Designer & Developer) that has operated continuously since 1999 as a bootstrapped, privately held micro studio with 1-10 employees. The company has no institutional investors, no funding rounds, and no parent company, with ownership concentrated in the founder. Its product portfolio spans five game franchises: the Hooves of Fire horse racing series (originally launched on Facebook in December 2009, still operating after 16+ years), the Hooves Reloaded mobile horse racing sequel (2015), the Hounds of Fury greyhound racing game (2019), the Neon.Pizza social trivia and party-games platform (September 2020), and the Pizza Runner GPS-based fitness game (2015). The studio's technology stack emphasizes cross-platform delivery — Facebook, Google Play, Apple App Store, WebGL web clients, Facebook Gameroom, and direct APK downloads — with a Hooves Passport account-linking system enabling cross-device progression continuity.

The studio operates a freemium business model monetized through in-game virtual token purchases, VIP subscription tiers (7-day and 30-day), Neon.Pizza supporter features, and rare-item unlocks such as the Premium Valentine Saddle. The Neon.Pizza platform is explicitly engineered for play over Zoom, Skype, and Microsoft Teams video conferencing sessions and includes trivia, music bingo, BLOCKED, Categorical, Starships, and Boombox (a daily music guessing game with 200+ tracks). Game mechanics across the racing franchises share a stable/kennel management, breeding, virtual betting, and progression framework, with tiered competitive levels reaching Grand Epic and Ascendant (Pedigree 107-119) in Hooves Reloaded. The Hounds of Fury game includes a Research Lab feature, weekly PVP challenges with $25k prize pools, and Google Play Games integration for cross-platform multiplayer and leaderboards.

The studio's customer base is composed of casual gamers (primarily) plus teachers using Neon.Pizza Trivia for classroom engagement, with no enterprise accounts. Distribution runs through Google Play, Apple App Store, Facebook, Facebook Gameroom, web browsers, and direct APK download, while marketing relies on organic social channels (Facebook, Twitter), a company blog, and third-party earned media (e.g., a Gamezebo review). Revenue is not publicly disclosed and the company has remained at sub-10 employee scale across its entire 16+ year operating history.

Name

Rubber Duck Software

Legal name

Rubber Duck Software

Website

https://rubberduck.com.au

Company type

Private

Founded year

2009

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Melbourne-based independent game studio founded by Jake Marsh that operates freemium casual games: horse and greyhound racing titles (Hooves of Fire, Hooves Reloaded, Hounds of Fury), the Neon.Pizza social trivia and party-games platform, and the GPS-based Pizza Runner fitness game.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Mobile and Online Casual Games

NAICS

Doll, Toy, and Game Manufacturing (33993)

SIC

Services-Miscellaneous Amusement & Recreation (7990)

akta.pro primary industry

Sports/Racing Game Studios (MPAFAAAJ)

Keywords

• Online horse racing games
• Social multiplayer games
• Mobile casual gaming
• Video call party games
• Virtual pet racing sims

Headquarters

HQ city

Melbourne

HQ country

Australia

HQ region

Oceania

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations

Revenue model

1. In-Game Token Purchases: Players purchase virtual tokens with real money to access VIP features, accelerate gameplay, gift to friends, and enhance their gaming experience. Tokens are used across Hooves of Fire, Hooves Reloaded, and Hounds of Fury.
2. VIP Subscription: VIP membership provides ad-free experience, exclusive items, enhanced breeding bonuses, and additional gameplay features. Available as 7-day, 30-day subscriptions or token-purchasable upgrades.
3. Neon.Pizza Supporter Features: Premium supporter features for Neon.Pizza including exclusive trivia question types (Put In Order, Closest Wins), duplicate functionality for quiz creation, and advanced hosting tools.
4. Fitness Game Monetization: Pizza Runner fitness game monetizes through game progression, encouraging physical activity while generating revenue through optional in-game purchases.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Rubber Duck Software develops and operates cross-platform social multiplayer games, including horse racing simulations (Hooves of Fire, Hooves Reloaded), a greyhound racing game (Hounds of Fury), a social trivia and party games platform for video conferencing (Neon.Pizza), and a GPS-based fitness game (Pizza Runner). The studio builds, distributes and continuously updates these games across web, mobile (iOS, Android), and Facebook platforms, monetising through in-game tokens, VIP subscriptions, and optional supporter upgrades.

Product overview

Rubber Duck Software is an Australian game development studio offering a portfolio of online and mobile games. The portfolio consists of horse/greyhound racing simulation games (Hooves of Fire, Hooves Reloaded, Hounds of Fury), a social party games platform (Neon.Pizza), and a fitness game (Pizza Runner). The racing games share similar mechanics around stable/breeding management, multiplayer racing, betting, and progression through skill-based levels. Neon.Pizza extends social gaming with video conferencing-integrated trivia, music games, and party games developed during COVID-19. Hooves of Fire Stable Manager serves as a companion mobile app for the Hooves of Fire ecosystem.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Neon.Pizza: Social trivia and multiplayer games platform created during Melbourne's COVID-19 lockdown, featuring trivia hosting, music bingo, and various social games playable over video conferencing.
• Hooves of Fire
• Hooves Reloaded
• Hounds of Fury
• Pizza Runner

Products and services

• Hooves of Fire Original social horse racing game released on Facebook in 2009. Players manage stables, train and breed horses, enter races, and bet on races. Features online multiplayer racing, virtual betting, VIP membership, and progression through various levels and countries.
• Hooves Reloaded Mobile-first horse racing game available on Android, iOS, and PC. Players manage stables, breed horses rated from beginners to Grand Master level, train for races, and compete in cup races. Features social elements including racing syndicates and multiplayer gameplay.
• Hounds of Fury Greyhound racing game for Android, iOS, and web. Players manage kennels, train greyhounds with strength/endurance stats, compete in races from Grade 4 to higher levels, bet, craft equipment, and access Research Lab for special treatments. Cross-platform multiplayer with Google Play Games integration.
• Neon.Pizza Social games platform created during COVID-19 pandemic for playing trivia, music bingo, and party games over video conferencing (Zoom, Skype, Teams). Includes hosted trivia library, customizable quiz creation, Music Bingo with YouTube playlists, Starships battles, BLOCKED, Categorical, and other multiplayer games.
• Pizza Runner Fitness game combining virtual pizza shop simulation with real-world GPS tracking. Players collect virtual ingredients, make pizzas, then walk or cycle around their neighborhood using the phone's GPS to deliver pizzas and earn tips. Includes achievements and fitness tracking.
• Hooves of Fire Stable Manager Mobile companion app for the Hooves of Fire game, available on Android and iOS. Features stable management, race viewing, betting, in-game chat, equipment management, and Blacksmith features. VIP ad-free version and free ad-supported version available.

Quantifiable outcome

• 100,000+ app installs on Google Play for Hooves Reloaded
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration10 records

Feature5 records

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Kahoot!: Group trivia and quiz platform with strong adoption in education and remote teams, directly comparable to Neon.Pizza Trivia's use case for teachers and remote social gaming.
• Fingersoft: Small independent Finnish studio behind Hill Climb Racing — comparable as a bootstrapped, small-team indie mobile game developer sustaining long-running casual franchises with simple mechanics.
• Hutch Games: Mobile-first racing games studio (F1 Clash, Rebel Racing, Top Drives) with multiplayer, progression, and live operations — closely comparable to Hooves of Fire, Hooves Reloaded, and Hounds of Fury's racing/breeding model.
• PlayStudios: Mobile casual games studio built around virtual currency, in-game economies, and loyalty mechanics — directly comparable to Rubber Duck's token economy and VIP-driven virtual betting systems.
• Jackbox Games: Independent US studio specializing in party games designed to be played in groups over video calls and streaming — the closest analog to Rubber Duck's Neon.Pizza platform for remote social/party play.

Broad incumbents

• Zynga (Take-Two Interactive): Large-scale mobile and social casual game publisher (FarmVille, Words With Friends, CSR Racing) — operates in the same casual/social/mobile category as Rubber Duck's portfolio but at significantly greater scale and with multi-game live-ops capability.
• Rovio Entertainment (Sega): Casual mobile games studio best known for Angry Birds — comparable as a small-to-mid studio running long-running casual franchises across mobile platforms with ongoing live operations.
• Miniclip: Established casual mobile and web games publisher with a multi-title portfolio (8 Ball Pool, Agar.io) — comparable in multi-game portfolio strategy and cross-platform (web + mobile) distribution approach.
• Playtika: Large mobile social casino and casual games publisher; the virtual currency, freemium, and live-ops models across its portfolio (Bingo Blitz, Slotomania) are analogous to Rubber Duck's racing-game token economy.

Emerging players

• Outfit7: Casual mobile games studio behind Talking Tom Gold Run and similar franchise titles — comparable in operating casual mobile IP with recurring content updates and tokenized in-game economies.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/RubberDuck_Soft
• Facebookfacebook.com/121448201245541

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Rubber Duck Software