A dev behind one of Steam's most unexpected indie hits of the year, Dressmaker, says he "couldn't be more proud" as the viral dressmaking sim continues to soar, breaking its concurrent player records.
Dressmaker launched on Steam last week, and the concept is exactly what you'd expect – the cozy simulation game lets you choose different fabrics, cut patterns, and create bespoke gowns, all with some seriously impressive creative freedom. It very quickly hit an Overwhelmingly Positive rating on the storefront – in fact, since we last spoke about it, it's gone from 96% to 98% positive – and as you'd expect, it's seeing a healthy number of players as a result.
Taking to Twitter, Ruan Rothmann, a dev at Dressmaker publisher Free Lives who previously worked on side-scrolling run 'n' gun Broforce and gladiator simulator Gorn, celebrates Dressmaker's success. "I used to be worried that I peaked way too early in my career. Now it seems I may have peaked with a dressmaking game," he writes, sharing a screenshot of the game's concurrent player chart, and adding: "Dressmaker is awesome and I couldn't be more proud."
Rothmann's screenshot shows Dressmaker with a concurrent player peak just above 25k, but it's actually surged well above that since his post. At the time of writing, Dressmaker's record sits at 35,650 concurrent Steam players – a peak it hit yesterday (thanks, SteamDB). With over 28k players actively dressmaking as I type this – in the middle of a working day – I really wouldn't be surprised if it breaks this record yet again as hype continues to build.
So, what's next for Dressmaker? Rothmann, who served as the game's programmer, notes on Twitter that the "next update will hide pins of other trims while one is selected," so look forward to that if the pins were bothering you. As for the studio's next game, the dev isn't giving away any clues, but he has some bad news if you were hoping for a "girly horse game," as one fan has suggested. "I dont trust horses or horse people sorry," he responds.
