Self-expression has been motivating players to play video games since the first player entered their initials into an arcade game – but the bestselling new release Dressmaker takes that self-expression to a whole new level, allowing players to combine different dress patterns, fabrics, and accessories from different eras into seemingly endless combinations at the behest of an extraordinary group of clients. The story of Dressmaker’s development is just as extraordinary: a partnered pair of co-creators Jonathan Hau-Yoon and Sabrina Becker drawing inspiration from Sabrina’s lost passion in disability and channeling it into one of the biggest indie debut games of 2026. It’s a story driven by a love for creativity, curiosity about the people around us, and mutual inspiration. There is so much here for everyone – not just game developers, but game players, fans of fashions, and even folks who love a good relationship story. And for folks like me who live with conditions like Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, you will feel particularly seen by this episode and Sabrina’s healing journey rediscovering her lost passion through the creation of Dressmaker.
Enduring Play is a biweekly, multiple Signal Award winning podcast about what it takes to create video games that don’t just survive, but thrive – and just 2 months after release it’s clear that Dressmaker’s community will be thriving for a long time to come, with over 700,000 copies sold and a Top 12 place in the Steam New Games charts in its debut month despite only 10 days selling in September. Listen on all major podcasting platforms or for free below.
If you enjoy this episode, stay for our back catalog of episodes that explore how great games are made and how we can continue to rebuild a video game industry in crisis sustainably. Enduring Play is sponsored by and inspired by The Game Development Strategy Guide, the book by Enduring Play host Cheryl Platz that drove the interviews in Season 1 of the podcast.
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Key Quotes
Sabrina Becker
On self-expression in Dressmaker:
“As much creativity, as much choice, as much expression as we can possibly squeeze into this game, we will put in there.”
On the wide appeal of Dressmaker:
It’s been so incredible to me to watch these people get engrossed, and I think really experience the joy and creativity that comes with fashion and that form of self expression that I think is very much removed from men for no good reason.”
On her personal disability journey:
“Dressmaker has turned out to be the most emotionally healing journey that I could have possibly gone on.”
Jonathan Hau-Yoon
On walking away from Next Fest plans:
“Just having someone ask us, “Hey, does this actually work for this game?” allowed us to sort of step back and be like, “Well, actually, a demo feels like it would do the game a disservice.”
On early Dressmaker prototyping:
“How do you want to rotate the the panel on the fabric? Do you want to align to the grain line or cross grain? Where on the fabric do you want to be? Which fabrics do you want to choose? There just felt like there were so many decisions there that that mattered.”
On self-expression in Dressmaker:
“Giving players that level of freedom gets us rewarded with such a massive variety of completely unexpected things, and so we should just enable that whenever we can.”
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The Game Development Strategy Guide
Enduring Play is the companion podcast to The Game Development Strategy Guide: Crafting Modern Video Games that Thrive. Season 1 features the interviews that inspired the book, and Season 2 expands our understanding of how to create sustainable gaming experiences. The book is available at all major online booksellers and at publisher Rosenfeld Media’s website.
Use code ENDURINGPLAY2026 at RosenfeldMedia.com to get 15% off your order – and all physical orders at Rosenfeld Media receive a free ebook. Podcast Bonus Episode offer expires December 15, 2026.
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