Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse Launches October 15: Release Date, Platforms, Editions, and Price (2026)

Konami’s new 2D Castlevania launches this week. Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse arrives October 15, 2026 for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox on PC, Steam, and Nintendo Switch, developed by Evil Empire with Motion Twin in an advisory role. It is the first new 2D entry in the franchise’s 40th anniversary year, and it comes from the teams behind Dead Cells.

Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse release date and platforms

Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse launches October 15, 2026 on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox on PC, Steam, and Nintendo Switch. Some storefronts, including Xbox and Steam, list October 14 in certain regions, which appears to be a time-zone listing quirk rather than a staggered release. Konami describes the game as an exploration-based 2D action title, and previews have compared its structure to Castlevania: Symphony of the Night.

The game is single-player only. Official specs target 60 fps on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC, with the Nintendo Switch version running at 30 fps. According to a Nintendo Life hands-on cited by Tech-Insider, the Switch version runs at 60 fps by default on Switch 2 through backward compatibility.

The story: burning Paris, 1499

Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse is set in Paris in 1499, 23 years after the events of Castlevania III: Dracula’s Curse. Paris burns as monstrous creatures pour out of the shadows, and a letter from the Bishop reaches Trevor Belmont. Trevor and his daughter Rose travel down the River Seine to answer it, but they are separated almost immediately on the docks of the burning city. Rose fights her way through the streets and the catacombs beneath them, with her first major opponent being a mysterious monster called The Fallen.

Rose Belmont is the daughter of Trevor Belmont and Sypha Belnades, and she carries Dracula’s curse in her right arm, a red mark that creeps from her elbow to her hand. The voice cast leans on the Netflix animated series: Abby Trott voices Rose, JB Blanc plays Trevor, Alejandra Reynoso returns as Sypha Belnades, Graham McTavish returns as Dracula, and Liam O’Brien reprises Isaac from Castlevania: Curse of Darkness. The trailer also showcases a new arrangement of the series staple Bloody Tears.

Gameplay: the whip, the tarot, and the Arcana

Rose wields the legendary Vampire Killer whip, and her most distinctive system is a tarot deck inherited from her mother Sypha. Defeated bosses are sealed into the cards and become Arcana, which Rose uses to cast spells and perform special actions. Each Arcana has optional challenges called Works of Mercy, and completing them unlocks upgrades known as Blessings.

The setup plays to the developers’ strengths. Evil Empire and Motion Twin built their reputation on fast, fluid 2D action with Dead Cells, and Konami’s positioning line describes Belmont’s Curse as depicting Rose Belmont’s growth with faster and more fluid gameplay than the classic entries.

Editions, price, and the free demo

Two digital editions of Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse are available. The Standard Edition costs $29.99 and includes the full game. The Midnight Edition costs $39.99 and adds a digital soundtrack and art gallery, the Trevor Style Costume, the Sypha Style Costume, and the Family’s Grace Relic. The Midnight Edition is also the only physical option, with disc and cartridge releases for PlayStation 5 and Nintendo Switch.

Players who pre-order either edition receive the Alucard Style Costume as an in-game bonus. A free demo has been available since October 1 on PlayStation 5, Switch, Xbox Series X|S, and Steam, and progress carries over to the full game, so anyone on the fence can try it before Thursday.

What it means for players

At $29.99, Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse is priced well below full-price AAA releases and sits in the mid-budget tier where Evil Empire and Motion Twin do their best work. It lands in a crowded October: Gears of War: E-Day launched earlier this month, and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 arrives the day after on October 16. For Castlevania fans, though, this is the milestone release: a brand-new 2D entry from a proven action studio in the series’ 40th anniversary year, with the Belmont bloodline finally moving forward a generation.

Neither Microsoft nor Konami has confirmed a Game Pass release, so subscribers should expect to buy it separately at launch.

Like other gothic action games in the genre, expect the real endgame discussion to be about builds, and the Arcana system gives players plenty to experiment with.

Sources: Notebookcheck, Xbox.com, TheGamesWiki