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I worried about this too the first time I took time off to work on a startup. I don't want to imply this will be the case for everyone, but for me I found that when I went back into a more traditional job it was actually much easier to get hired and the offers were generally higher.

I think some of that had to do with the nature of the field I work in and the startup I work on. But in reality, as long as you know how to code...this is kind of the determining factor. You might have to take a job you don't like as much or something (though again, maybe not even that) but there is just such high demand for software developers that it's hard to imagine becoming completely unhirable.

I want to emphasize that my message here isn't that there is no risk, but that after doing it this risk feels much smaller than it initially did.

Even if you aren't working on a startup, you may find that if you label it as your "sabbatical" and casually and joyfully explain that you wanted to try taking a big block of time off to do things you're interested in. Some companies will find this offputting, but as many or more will find it interesting and want to hear more.

Frankly when trying to hire developers companies can't really afford to be picky anyway. If they are it's not a great sign of what it might be like to work there.