“Women Love Video Games,” Dressmaker Dev Says, There Just Aren’t Enough Games For Them: “We Were Definitely Targeting Women From The Get-go”

Cozy Lives co-developer Sabrina Becker says the studio designed its sewing simulator Dressmaker with women in mind, arguing that women play games but have too few titles tailored to their interests. The game’s reception on Steam has brought that audience into view: about a month after release, it had 17,530 user reviews averaging 98% positive, according to GamesRadar+.

“We were definitely targeting women from the get-go,” Becker told GamesRadar+. She said the studio saw demand for dress-up and clothing-focused play, including among women and girls using Roblox, and wanted to offer that kind of experience in a dedicated game. Becker described the interest from male players as a “great bonus,” rather than the audience the team initially set out to reach.

GamesRadar+ also reported that Dressmaker had more than 15,000 average concurrent players and remained among Steam’s top 100 games at the time of its report. Those figures describe the game’s performance during the period covered by the report; they do not establish how its audience has changed since then. The game is a small, single-player release, and the source does not provide sales figures.

Becker’s interest in the subject is personal. She said she pursued costume design and had sewn since childhood, but chronic illness caused by Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (EDS) interrupted her ability to pursue that work. As her health improved, the opportunity to develop Dressmaker with her husband and co-developer, Jonathan Hau-Yoon, aligned with her renewed connection to sewing and clothing.

A Strong Audience for Sewing Games

The reported response offers a concrete example of a game finding players through a subject and style that Becker says are often underserved. Reviews quoted by GamesRadar+ describe players reconnecting with sewing and sharing the game with relatives who had not previously shown interest in video games. Those accounts are individual experiences, not evidence that all women want the same kinds of games, but they show how a focused design can create an entry point for people who may not identify with other releases.

The developers’ comments also challenge the assumption Becker described: that women do not play because they are uninterested. Her argument is that the available selection can shape who feels addressed by games. Dressmaker’s reported audience suggests there is interest in this particular kind of play, though its success alone cannot establish the size of the wider market or explain every factor behind its reception.

How Dressmaker Reached Steam

Cozy Lives, led by Becker and Hau-Yoon, released Dressmaker on Steam before its planned expansion to other platforms. The developers had expected a larger audience on mobile devices and Nintendo Switch, according to the GamesRadar+ report. The studio began with Steam because it was easier to make changes there without going through the additional platform certification processes described by Hau-Yoon.

The game launched with work still outstanding. Hau-Yoon told GamesRadar+ that time and budget limits had kept some intended features out of the release, while the unexpectedly large audience and media attention left him feeling overwhelmed. Becker said the team was happy to have the opportunity to keep building the game. The report did not give a release schedule for future features or ports.

Sales, Ports and Update Dates

The reported Steam reviews and concurrent-player figures do not reveal how many copies Dressmaker sold, how many players were women, or how much each group contributed to its reception. Becker’s view that women are underserved is a developer’s interpretation; the report does not include market research measuring the size of that audience.

Cozy Lives has discussed future updates and ports, but the report gives no launch dates, confirmed platform list beyond the developers’ expectations for mobile and Nintendo Switch, or detailed feature roadmap. Becker mentioned a possible online feature allowing players to vote on favorite dress designs, but the source presents it as a teaser, not a confirmed release commitment.

Planned Updates and Platform Ports

Cozy Lives says it intends to continue developing Dressmaker and work through features left out of the initial release. Becker mentioned a potential player-voting feature for dress designs, while Hau-Yoon described a backlog of ideas the team had not completed under its original time and budget constraints.

The studio also plans to bring the game beyond Steam, with mobile and Nintendo Switch among the platforms it had expected to reach. No dates or full rollout plan were provided in the report, so the next confirmed milestone is not clear. For now, the developers’ statements indicate ongoing plans rather than a dated update announcement.

Key Questions

What is Dressmaker?

Dressmaker is a single-player sewing and dressmaking simulation game developed by Cozy Lives.

Why did the developers target women?

Co-developer Sabrina Becker said the studio believed women were an underserved audience and wanted to make a game centered on dressmaking, an interest she described as stereotypically feminine.

How did Dressmaker perform on Steam?

GamesRadar+ reported that about a month after release it had 17,530 user reviews averaging 98% positive and more than 15,000 average concurrent players. Those are figures from the report’s time period, not current live statistics.

Will Dressmaker come to other platforms?

The developers said they expect to bring it to other platforms, including mobile and Nintendo Switch. The report did not give release dates or a complete platform schedule.

What updates are planned?

Cozy Lives said it has more features it wants to add. Becker mentioned a possible online system for voting on dress designs, but no update date or firm release commitment was reported.

Source: gamesradar.com