Castlevania: Belmont's Curse
Upcoming video game
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Castlevania: Belmont's Curse is an upcoming action-adventure game developed by Evil Empire and published by Konami. It is the 26th main entry of the Castlevania franchise. Taking place in 1499, over two decades after the events of Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse (1989) and Castlevania: Curse of Darkness (2005), the story will follow Rose Belmont, daughter of vampire hunter Trevor Belmont and his wife Sypha Belnades, who ventures into the titular castle as it manifests directly in the heart of Paris.
| Castlevania: Belmont's Curse | |
|---|---|
European and Japanese cover art by Katsuya Terada | |
| Developer | Evil Empire[a] |
| Publisher | Konami |
| Directors |
|
| Producer | Tsutomu Taniguchi |
| Designer | Sandro Bordier |
| Writer | Matthew Willis |
| Composer | Daniel Asadi |
| Series | Castlevania |
| Platforms | |
| Release | 15 October 2026 |
| Genre | Action-adventure |
| Mode | Single-player |
The title returns to the exploration-based design of previous entries such as Castlevania: Symphony of the Night (1997). Gameplay for Belmont's Curse entails traversing a non-linear map comprising both the castle and the surrounding city of Paris, defeating enemies and a variety of bosses to gain experience, while searching for upgrades and key items to procedurally unlock access to more areas over time. The protagonist is equipped with the Belmont family whip, the "Vampire Killer", which is able to be used both as offense against enemies and for movement across large chasms and certain heights that cannot be reached otherwise.
Konami was reported to have greenlit numerous new entries in their tentpole franchises as part of their return to console and PC game development in 2021, including Castlevania. Belmont's Curse entered production in 2022 and was officially announced in February 2026. Along with Haunted Castle Revisited (2024), it is the first new entry in the franchise since Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2 (2014). Motion Twin will collaborate with Konami and Evil Empire on the title in an advisory role, after they co-developed the Dead Cells: Return to Castlevania (2023) expansion pack. The game is being produced in commemoration of the franchise's 40th anniversary.
Castlevania: Belmont's Curse is scheduled to release on 15 October 2026 for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, Windows and Xbox Series X/S.
Gameplay
Belmont's Curse is a side-scrolling action-adventure game that follows the non-linear, exploration-focused format of Castlevania games since Symphony of the Night (1997).[3][4] Players control the main protagonist Rose Belmont, navigating her through a large, auto-filling map divided into multiple areas and sub-areas while acquiring items and weapons, and defeating various enemies. As with prior entries, the game integrates elements of role-playing games, with Rose able to derive experience points from defeating enemies and bosses which then enable her to level up, increasing statistics and attributes such as available hit points for receiving damage, magic points for mana-based abilities, and the associated potencies of her physical and magic-based attacks.[5][6] In Belmont's Curse, these respective abilities are represented as tarot cards Rose possesses, with mana abilities comprising Arcana, and equippable weapons being sorted into various classes and types in the Armoury, ranging from short-range swords, long-range weapons such as spears, and gauntlets for use in melee combat.[7]
In Belmont's Curse, further exploration into areas within and surrounding the titular castle is gated off by large doorways that require a certain number of 'keys' obtained by defeating a set of bosses in the current area.[8] Defeating bosses enables Rose to siphon an attribute or power that is then stored as an Arcana, available to equip and use as an ability of her own. These Arcanas can be strengthened by performing 'Works of Mercy' that require the player to use said ability or spell a certain number of times under specific conditions, upon which the completion grants the player points that can be allocated towards upgrading the Arcana's associated skills.[9]
Plot
Setting and characters
Castlevania: Belmont's Curse takes place in 1499 within the series' original timeline,[19] placing it 23 years following the events of Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse (1989),[20] and 20 years after Castlevania: Curse of Darkness (2005).[21] The story takes place in Medieval Paris after being overrun by demonic creatures, when the local bishop requests the services of Trevor Belmont (JB Blanc), the vampire hunter who previously defeated Dracula (Graham McTavish) with his late wife Sypha Belnades (Alejandra Reynoso). Trevor in turn enlists the help of their daughter Rose (Abby Trott) who was born shortly before Sypha passed away, inheriting her affliction with Dracula's curse in her right arm,[22] and whom Trevor had trained to succeed him as a vampire hunter.[23][24] Together, the two Belmonts set out to protect the city while attempting to determine what caused the monsters' appearance.[20]
As Rose traverses Paris, she encounters numerous figures seeking to aid or impede her quest, including a mysterious monster terrorizing the city only known as "The Fallen" (Ray Chase); Joan of Arc (Erica Lindbeck), the legendary heroine who was suggested to play a major role in the hundred-year war between vampire hunters and the forces of darkness, and Dracula's various accomplices such as the vampire Carmilla (Dawn M. Bennett), the serpent-headed seductress Medusa (Melique Berger); Isaac (Liam O'Brien), a devil forgemaster who previously fought Trevor Belmont; and Death (Aaron LaPlante), Dracula's loyal servant who feeds on souls of the dead.[25]
Story
Trevor and Rose Belmont arrive in Paris and split up, with Rose investigating deeper into the city to find the source of the monster outbreak while Trevor convened with the bishop. Journeying into the underground reservoir and sewers, Rose finds an enchanted doorway obstructing her path and is intercepted by the Fallen, who pines for her soul and does battle with her. Upon defeat, the Fallen's soul is purified and transferred to one of the tarot cards Rose was gifted by Sypha prior to her passing. The Fallen recounts that he was dispatched alongside two other guardians serving an unknown master, who commanded them to kill innocents and bring their souls to them in the Parisian catacombs, while also relaying to Rose that they held the remaining keys required to unlock the path forward.
Development
In October 2021, Video Games Chronicle reported that publisher Konami was restructuring in preparation of a strategic pivot that would see them refocusing on the production of premium games for console and PC, after a brief period of emphasizing mobile and pachislot titles throughout the mid-2010s. Among the games greenlit included a "reimagining" of the Castlevania series primarily developed by Konami with support from external studios.[26] In 2023, Konami producer Tsutomu Taniguchi acknowledged "excitement and enthusiasm" with regards to a new Castlevania game following numerous compilations for previous entries in the series being released since the late 2010s.[27]
Belmont's Curse is being developed by Evil Empire under license from Konami with assistance from Motion Twin in an advisory capacity. The aforementioned developers previously collaborated on the Return to Castlevania downloadable expansion for the roguelike Metroidvania title Dead Cells (2018).[28] The former studios were selected by the publisher due to Konami's faith in them to deliver a new exploration-based action game that captured the essence of the franchise while innovating.[29] Konami's Tommy Williams confirmed that Belmont's Curse would not adopt any of the roguelike progression gameplay seen in the developers' previous work on Dead Cells, instead being described as a freeform action-exploration title similar to previous Castlevania entries.[30] The game entered development in 2022,[31] with Konami describing the title as the first of multiple new Castlevania projects going forward.[32] Abby Trott and JB Blanc voice Rose and Trevor respectively; other members of the voice cast include Alejandra Reynoso as Sypha Belnades and Graham McTavish as Dracula, reprising their roles from the Castlevania animated series (2017–2021), and Liam O'Brien as Isaac, reprising the role from Castlevania: Curse of Darkness (2005).[25]
Release
Castlevania: Belmont's Curse was announced in February 2026 during a segment of Sony Interactive Entertainment's State of Play presentation focused on upcoming Konami titles, with a first look at gameplay and an accompanying message from producer Tsutomu Taniguchi.[20] The game commemorates the 40th anniversary of the Castlevania franchise,[20] and is the first new console entry in the series since Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2 (2014).[4][33] It is also the first traditional 2D installment in the series' original timeline since Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia (2008).[34] A second trailer premiered during the Xbox Games Showcase in June 2026, confirming the game's release date for most aforementioned platforms. Following the reveal, Konami initially announced that the Nintendo Switch version of the game had been delayed to later in the year, before eventually confirming the following month that it would launch on Switch simultaneously with other platforms.[35][36][37] A demo featuring exploration through the opening areas of the game and the first boss encounter with The Fallen, was released on all platforms on October 1, 2026 with the ability to carry over progress into the full release.[38]
Castlevania: Belmont's Curse is scheduled to release on October 15, 2026 for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, Windows and Xbox Series X/S.[39]
Notes
- Advisory assistance by Motion Twin[1][2]