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.