Dressmaker Dev: 'I May Have Peaked' as Indie Hit Hits 35k Players

Ever dreamed of designing your own ballgowns? Well, you're not alone – thousands of you are diving into Dressmaker, the cozy dressmaking sim that's taking Steam by storm.

Launched last week, Dressmaker lets you pick fabrics, cut patterns, and create bespoke gowns with impressive creative freedom. It didn't take long for players to fall in love: the game quickly earned an Overwhelmingly Positive rating, and since then, it's climbed from 96% to 98% positive. That's a whole lot of happy dressmakers.

And the player count? It's exploding. Over the weekend, Dressmaker hit a record 35,650 concurrent players on Steam – and that was yesterday. As I write this, over 28,000 of you are actively dressmaking, even in the middle of a working day. With hype still building, it wouldn't be surprising to see that record fall again soon.

The game's success has even taken its developer by surprise. Ruan Rothmann, a dev at publisher Free Lives (known for Broforce and Gorn), shared his excitement on Twitter. "I used to be worried that I peaked way too early in my career," he wrote. "Now it seems I may have peaked with a dressmaking game." He added, "Dressmaker is awesome and I couldn't be more proud."

Rothmann, who programmed the game, also teased a small upcoming update: the next patch will hide pins of other trims while one is selected. So if those pins were driving you up the wall, relief is on the way.

As for what's next from Free Lives, Rothmann isn't spilling the beans. But if you were hoping for a "girly horse game," he has some bad news. "I dont trust horses or horse people sorry," he joked in response to a fan suggestion. Guess we'll have to stick to dresses for now.

With its charming concept and massive player base, Dressmaker is proving that sometimes the most unexpected ideas become the biggest hits. Have you tried your hand at dressmaking yet? Let us know in the comments!