Castlevania: Belmont's Curse

''Belmont's Curse'' is a side-scrolling action game. == Synopsis ==

Setting and characters ''Castlevania: Belmont's Curse'' takes place in 1499 within the series' original timeline, placing it 23 years following the events of ''Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse'' (1989), The story takes place in Medieval Paris after being overrun by demonic creatures, when the local bishop requests the services of Trevor Belmont, the vampire hunter who previously defeated Dracula with his wife Sypha Belnades. Trevor in turn enlists the help of his descendant who receives from him the legendary holy whip known as the "Vampire Killer", and they set out to protect the city while attempting to determine what caused the monsters' appearance. == 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. 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. ''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). 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. 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. The game entered development in 2022, with Konami describing the title as the first of multiple new Castlevania projects going forward. == 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. The game commemorates the 40th anniversary of the Castlevania franchise, It is also the first traditional 2D installment in the series' original timeline since Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia (2008). ''Castlevania: Belmont's Curse'' is scheduled to release in 2026 for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, Windows and Xbox Series X/S. == Notes ==