Castlevania: Belmont's Curse Release Date, Price, Editions and Free Demo: What to Know Before October 15

Konami's new Castlevania from the Dead Cells team arrives October 15 on PS5, Xbox, Switch and PC. Here's the price, editions and how the free demo works.

The first brand-new Castlevania in years is exactly one week away. Castlevania: Belmont's Curse launches on Thursday, October 15, 2026, on PS5, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch and PC (Steam and Xbox on PC), and a free demo has been live on every platform since October 1.

It's a genuinely unusual project for Konami. Development is led by Evil Empire together with Motion Twin, the teams behind Dead Cells and its long-running updates, working alongside Konami itself. Dead Cells already had a popular Return to Castlevania DLC, so the pairing makes sense, but this time it's a full, original 2D Castlevania rather than a crossover.

The key facts

Story and setting

Belmont's Curse is set in Paris in 1499, 23 years after the events of Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse. You play as Rose Belmont, the daughter of Trevor Belmont, who carries the family's legendary whip, the Vampire Killer. The journey takes her through the burning streets of Paris, the catacombs beneath the city and, inevitably, Dracula's castle.

Familiar faces from the series' rogues' gallery return, with Death, Medusa and Carmilla confirmed as bosses. The game also adds a new historical twist: Joan of Arc appears as a boss. Konami has also published a full Japanese voice cast, and key art comes from veteran illustrator Katsuya Terada.

How it plays

Konami describes Belmont's Curse as an exploration-based 2D action game, which in practice means a classic Castlevania-style castle crawl with a modern feel. From what has been officially shown and what previews describe:

• The whip does more than hit things. Rose can use it to swing across gaps and grapple, pulling herself toward enemies or hard-to-reach spots.
• Arcana replace traditional boss rewards. Defeated bosses are sealed into tarot cards that grant new spells and special actions. According to previews, some of them also unlock new ways to get around.
• Weapon variety is a big focus. Gematsu reports weapons across seven categories, along with Relics that can be combined to build your own playstyle. Subweapons return too.
• Dash and slide are back for movement, and save points and fast travel spots are part of a labyrinthine, interconnected map.

Hands-on previews from the summer show circuit were broadly positive about the responsive controls, though one noted that the preview build seemed easier than the full game is likely to be.

Price and editions

There are two editions, and both are available to pre-order now:

• Standard Edition – $29.99 / €29.99 digitally, for the base game.
• Midnight Edition – $39.99 / €39.99, available physically and digitally. It adds a Digital Sound & Art Gallery, Trevor- and Sypha-style costumes for Rose and an in-game relic.

Pre-ordering or buying any edition early also adds an Alucard-style costume for Rose, a nod to Symphony of the Night.

The Switch version: same day after all

When Konami first dated the game in June, the Switch version was listed only for "later in 2026." That changed in July, when Konami confirmed that Switch would launch on October 15 alongside every other platform.

There's one important detail for Nintendo players. This is a Switch 1 release, and Konami has said it runs at 30fps on Switch, compared with 60fps on PS5, Xbox Series X|S and PC. No native Switch 2 version has been announced. Switch 2 owners can play the Switch version through backward compatibility, and RPG Site reports the frame rate is higher there than on the original hardware, but it's worth trying the demo first if performance matters to you.

The free demo and save transfer

The demo went live on October 1 on PS5, Xbox Series X|S, Switch and Steam. It covers the opening stages of the game, though Konami notes that some features and content are restricted.

The best part is that your progress carries over. To transfer it, you need to:

1. Play the demo and the full game on the same platform and the same account.
2. Keep your demo save data on the system.
3. Update the full game to the latest version before loading the save.

That means a demo save on Switch won't move to PS5, for example, so choose the platform you plan to buy on before diving in.

Why it matters

Castlevania fans have mostly lived on collections, crossovers and the anime adaptation for the past decade. Belmont's Curse is a new, original side-scrolling entry with a fresh Belmont in the lead, a low price point and a team that has already proven it understands the series. At $29.99 for the standard version and with a demo that carries over your progress, it's an easy game to try, and October 15 could turn out to be one of the month's biggest days for action-platformer fans.

This article was written by AI (Claude) and checked against the sources above. Games are updated regularly, so details may change.