Konami showed off the next sequel game at XBOX Games Showcase 2026, Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse, coming out in October 2026.

Celebrating its 40th anniversary, Castlevania finds its 26th main entry game. Konami and Evil Empire were proud to announce Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse, a sequel to Castlevania III: Dracula’s Curse from back in 1989. The game may be spearheaded by Evil Empire, but Motion Twin was said to be in a consulting role as well. The two creators worked on Dead Cells together, and now collaborating on this next game in the iconic franchise.

The story description on the Xbox Wire confirms the game is “set 23 years after 1989’s Castlevania: Dracula’s Curse.” Then, it reveals the “new sequel depicts the growth of a young Rose Belmont–daughter of Trevor Belmont and Sypha Belnades–and marries the classic structure of Castlevania with modern enhancements, including enhanced freedom and speed, tarot-based Arcana skills, and more. Race to save a ravaged Paris before Dracula’s curse can claim Rose, and take on Death itself.” And yes, Rose will be carrying the Belmont family heirloom 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.

This is a nice change of pace, having a new female lead in Rose. This almost parallels the family bonds in games and sequel games, likened recently to that of God of War: Laufey revealed at the latest Sony State of Play. It was nice to see some of the cool visuals from the trailer, along with the dynamic enhancements. The voiceover from Rose’s mother Sypha is heard over some of the gameplay: “God has given you another chance, Rose. You must use it wisely to better control your curse and strengthen yourself.” So, maybe it will be looking back and forward in examining Rose’s journey.

The latest installment in the series, Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse, is set to launch on October 15, 2026. It will be coming to XBOX Series X|S and XBOX on PC as an Xbox Play Anywhere title.

Castlevania has been featured many times on Indie Retro News, from my personal favorite 'Castlevania Spectral Interlude' on the ZX Spectrum, to Dante's upcoming Castlevania AGA for the Commodore Amiga. But here's another update you might like to know about if you love this classic game. As we have been told that Xfixium, who is also behind the Golden Axe Tyris Edition, is still working on

Konami, Evil Empire and Motion Twin have announced Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse, an all-new 2D side-scrolling metroidvania that will release this year for PS5, Xbox Series X|S, Switch and PC.

Set more than two decades after Castlevania III: Dracula’s Curse, Belmont’s Curse is set in 15th century Paris. The whip has been passed on to Trevor Belmont’s successor, who must head out into the city and battle monstrous creatures, heading into a mystical castle and threatens to doom Paris to eternal darkness.

It’s the 40th anniversary of the Castlevania series, and so it’s a massively fan-pleasing announcement to see a new 2D game announced, and then to have such highly regarded developers behind it. Original Dead Cells studio Motion Twin is here in an advisory role, while their successor studio at Evil Empire are the main developers alongside Konami on Belmont’s Curse. Evil Empire was founded in 2019 to continue to support Dead Cells, but since wrapping up that game’s DLC in 2023, moved on to adapt The Rogue Prince of Persia as a roguelite, which hit its full release last year.

Evil Empire are no strangers to Castlevania, though. The fourth and final expansion for Dead Cells was Return to Castlevania, arriving in 2023 with characters, weapons and enemies licensed from the Castlevania series. With a working relationship already established, and that DLC well-received, they’re getting a second crack of the whip at the franchise. What’s interesting is that, where Dead Cells and TRPOP were both rougelites, this is described as a “2D Action-Exploration”, implying a more traditional metroidvania. One to keep an eye on, that’s for sure.