Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse Locks In Oct. 15 Launch on Switch, Alongside All Platforms
Konami has confirmed that Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse will now launch simultaneously on Nintendo Switch alongside PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S and PC on October 15, 2026, closing off months of uncertainty over whether the Switch edition would slip behind the rest of the pack. Nintendo Life reported that the confirmation came via Konami’s Japanese Castlevania social account, with physical pre-orders opening in Japan the same day. The news puts to rest weeks of speculation after the June reveal trailer left Switch off the release-date announcement entirely.
The game marks the franchise’s 26th main entry and its first traditional side-scrolling adventure in the original Castlevania timeline since Order of Ecclesia in 2008. Belmont’s Curse entered production in 2022 and was officially announced in February 2026, and along with Haunted Castle Revisited, it is the first new entry in the franchise since Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2 in 2014. It’s being built to coincide with the series’ 40th anniversary.
Rose Belmont Takes Up the Vampire Killer in 1499 Paris
The story follows 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, taking place in 1499, over two decades after the events of Castlevania III: Dracula’s Curse and Castlevania: Curse of Darkness. According to Konami’s own storefront description, Trevor Belmont, the hero who defeated Dracula, ventures into the burning streets with his daughter, Rose Belmont, armed with the legendary holy whip, the Vampire Killer, and Rose is soon swept up in the dark conspiracy that lurks beneath the city.
Combat and traversal both run through the Vampire Killer whip, which developers say lets Rose “move around freely like a trapeze artist” while borrowing swing mechanics reminiscent of Super Castlevania IV. Once defeated, bosses are sealed into Rose’s tarot cards, turning them into Arcana that grant their skills for casting spells and unique special actions — a progression hook drawing comparisons to the Dual Set-Up System from Circle of the Moon and the Glyph system from Order of Ecclesia. The confirmed boss roster mixes series veterans with new twisted French folklore figures: legendary bosses including Death, Medusa and Carmilla face off against enigmatic new bosses such as Joan of Arc, who is fought near a corrupted Notre-Dame.
Seven Weapon Categories, Relics, and No Roguelike Progression
Konami has been explicit that this is not a Dead Cells-style run-based game, despite Evil Empire’s roguelike pedigree. Players will be able to customise Rose’s loadout across seven weapon categories alongside equippable Relics used for both offence and defence, letting exploration reward build variety rather than random runs. The Vampire Killer remains the constant, but Rose’s opening arsenal includes a sword for faster, lower-commitment strikes.
The pedigree behind the project traces back to Evil Empire and Motion Twin’s earlier work reshaping Dead Cells with a Castlevania-themed expansion. Motion Twin and Evil Empire COO Benjamin Laulan has described how a modest request to make Castlevania-themed cosmetic skins for Dead Cells snowballed into Konami inviting the studio to build a full standalone Castlevania game, admitting he initially thought the ask was too ambitious. As Laulan recalled the exchange, “Konami was on board with the idea… ‘They said, Let’s do it, and would you also be interested in doing the next Castlevania game?’ I’m stoked. Sometimes you’ve just got to ask the question, and you can be surprised by the answer.”
Midnight Edition, Pricing and Pre-Order Bonuses
Konami’s official pricing puts the standard digital edition at $29.99, with physical copies (Switch, PS5, Xbox) running $39.99, matching the price of the digital-only Midnight Edition. Per the publisher’s own release announcement, the digital or physical Midnight Editions of Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse include alternate costumes for Rose Belmont, a Digital Sound & Art Gallery, and an in-game relic item. That gallery reportedly bundles more than 100 pieces of concept art alongside a 71-track soundtrack, while the two bonus outfits pay tribute to Trevor Belmont and Sypha Belnades respectively.
Everyone who pre-orders any edition, digital or physical, also receives an Alucard-inspired costume for Rose as a bonus, an obvious wink at Symphony of the Night. North America won’t be getting a physical Midnight Edition, though other regions will see a Midnight Edition bundled with a steelbook, and select retailers will also stock a Rose Belmont tarot card. Cover art for the release comes from acclaimed manga illustrator Katsuya Terada, whose work has featured across the franchise’s key art since the reveal trailer.
What the Switch Confirmation Means for the Metroidvania Comeback
For a franchise whose most beloved entries — Symphony of the Night, Aria of Sorrow, Dawn of Sorrow, Order of Ecclesia — largely lived on Sony and Nintendo handhelds, the Switch hiccup had real stakes for a big chunk of the fanbase. Resolving it in favour of a same-day launch signals Konami wants Belmont’s Curse treated as a flagship handheld-friendly release rather than an afterthought bolted on later, which matters in territories like New Zealand and Australia where Switch ownership rates remain high relative to other platforms.
It also arrives at a moment when the Castlevania name carries more mainstream heat than it has in over a decade, largely thanks to the Netflix animated adaptation introducing Trevor, Sypha and Dracula to viewers who’ve never touched a joypad tied to the series. Whether that audience converts into day-one buyers for a Metroidvania built by the Dead Cells team will be one of the more interesting data points of the franchise’s 40th-anniversary year.
Read also: Final Fantasy Resonance: New “Pixel” Trailer Reveals Dilmagia, Olderion Ahead of Oct. 22 Launch
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