Friday, 17 July 2026
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Castlevania: Belmont's Curse Launches October 15, Returns to 2D Exploration

After a 12-year gap since the last original 2D Castlevania entry, the series returns to its exploration-action roots with a new canonical protagonist and a focus on the whip as a core mechanic, aiming to bridge classic and modern design.

Key Facts

  • Castlevania: Belmont's Curse releases on October 15, 2026, for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch, and PC via Steam.
  • The standard edition is priced at 3,850 yen; the Midnight Edition, which includes a digital art gallery and in-game items, costs 4,950 yen.
  • The protagonist is Rose Belmont, voiced by Yui Ishikawa, and her father Trevor Belmont is voiced by Ryotaro Okiayu.
  • The game is set in 1499 Paris, 23 years after the events of Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse, and is a canonical sequel.
  • Evil Empire and Motion Twin, known for Dead Cells, co-developed the title, but the game contains no roguelike elements.

Reporting from 5 sources: 4Gamer.net, GAME Watch (Impress), Denfaminicogamer, ASCII.jp, and 1 more.

Castlevania: Belmont's Curse Launches October 15, Returns to 2D Exploration

Konami will release Castlevania: Belmont's Curse on October 15, 2026, for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch, and PC via Steam. The title is a canonical sequel set in 1499 Paris, 23 years after Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse. The protagonist is Rose Belmont, daughter of Trevor and Sypha, voiced by Yui Ishikawa. Trevor is voiced by Ryotaro Okiayu. The game is co-developed by Evil Empire and Motion Twin, the creators of Dead Cells, but contains no roguelike elements. It is a 2D exploration action game that emphasizes the whip as both a mobility tool and a combat enabler. Players can use the Arcana Whip to swing across gaps, pull themselves toward enemies, and perform weapon-specific follow-up attacks. The game features seven weapon categories, a level-up system, and a tarot card-based Arcana system that grants spells and upgrades. Difficulty is high but adjustable through in-game options. The standard edition costs 3,850 yen; the Midnight Edition, which includes a digital art gallery and in-game items, costs 4,950 yen. The preview event provided about three hours of playtime, covering three bosses: Monster, Jeanne d'Arc, and Medusa.

Producer Isao Taniguchi told media that the decision to set the game 23 years after Castlevania III came from a desire to create a 2D exploration game centered on the Belmont family and the whip. The title Castlevania was chosen over the Japanese Akumajo Dracula for global recognizability, and Trevor Belmont's name was used instead of the Japanese-localized Ralph for consistency. Taniguchi, who has played the series since childhood, said the project grew out of earlier efforts to rerelease past titles and collaborate on the Dead Cells DLC.

Director Yukiko Hokao and Evil Empire creative director Emmanuel Nouaille emphasized that the difficulty was designed to be fair and rewarding, with a level-up system and customizable options to let players adjust enemy strength and recovery item counts. The whip acts as a wire-action tool for both traversal and combat, and can be hooked onto colored anchors or enemies. Bosses drop Arcana that become tarot cards, granting spells and upgradeable powers. The preview also included a surprise: the first boss, a monster, uses a cross and whip, hinting at a connection to the Belmont family. Sypha, Rose's mother, is deceased before the game begins, and her curse is passed to Rose.

Voice actors were confirmed: Yui Ishikawa as Rose and Ryotaro Okiayu as Trevor. The game will be available in both a digital-only standard edition and a physical/digital Midnight Edition.

Synthesized by Yomimono from the 5 cited sources below, including Japanese-language reporting where cited, then editorially reviewed before publishing.

Castlevania: Belmont's Curse Konami

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