Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse gets a free demo on 1 October, a fortnight before the full game arrives. Konami confirmed it over the weekend, and the offer is more generous than a simple taster: the demo covers the game’s opening chapter, runs on PS5, Xbox Series, PC and Switch, and lets you carry your save into the full release. There are a few conditions attached to that last part, and Switch players face an odd situation of their own. Here is everything Konami has said about the demo, and a reminder of what the full game is.
At a glance
The Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse demo arrives on 1 October on PS5, Xbox Series X|S, Steam and Switch.
Demo progress carries over to the full game, as long as you stay on the same platform and account.
The full game launches on 15 October on PS5, Xbox and PC, with the Switch version still undated.
What the Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse demo includes
The details sit on Konami’s official demo page. The content itself is the game’s opening chapter, with one cautious caveat from the publisher: some features and content may be restricted in the demo, and Konami does not say which ones.
The demo lands on 1 October across four platforms: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Steam and Nintendo Switch. The exact release time has not been announced yet, and Konami says it will share it later. Two weeks is a comfortable window for anyone who wants to try before buying.
It supports eleven languages, including English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese, Russian, Japanese, Korean and both Traditional and Simplified Chinese. An opening chapter already tells you a lot about a game’s pace.
Carrying your save over: Konami’s four conditions
The save transfer is the most useful part of the announcement, since it means you will not have to replay the opening on 15 October. Konami does attach conditions, though, and they are worth knowing before you start.
First, the demo and the full game must be on the same platform and linked to the same account, so a Steam save will not follow you to a PS5. Second, you need to keep the demo’s save data until you buy the game, which means resisting the urge to delete it to free up space. Third, the full game has to be updated to its latest version for the transfer to work. Fourth, as already mentioned, some features may be locked in the demo itself.
In practice, that boils down to one habit. Play the demo on the machine you plan to buy the game on, leave the save alone, and install any updates before launching the full version.
60fps everywhere except Switch
Konami has also listed performance targets for the demo. It runs at 60fps on PS5, Xbox Series X|S and PC, while the Switch version is capped at 30fps, a gap that matters in a 2D action game where smooth motion helps you read enemy attacks.
Storage requirements are modest: around 6GB on PS5, 5GB on Xbox Series, 4GB on Steam and 3GB on Switch.
There is one oddity worth flagging. The demo reaches Switch on 1 October, yet Konami’s release announcement still gives no date for the full game on Switch. Switch owners will be able to play the opening chapter with no idea when they can carry on. The Switch demo comes before a Switch release date.
Rose Belmont, Paris in 1499 and the team behind Dead Cells
As a reminder, Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse is an exploration-based 2D action adventure set in Paris in 1499, more than two decades after the events of Castlevania III: Dracula’s Curse. You play as Rose Belmont, daughter of Trevor Belmont, descending into a city overrun by monstrous creatures, with a looming mystical castle overhead and the family’s legendary whip, the Vampire Killer, in hand.
Evil Empire is the lead developer, with advisory support from Motion Twin. The pairing has history with the series: the two studios made Return to Castlevania together, the Dead Cells expansion released in March 2023 that took the roguelite into Dracula’s castle. Konami describes Belmont’s Curse as an exploration game, and its announcement makes no mention of the run-based structure Dead Cells is known for.
That shared past is a useful reference point. The Dead Cells expansion showed the studios could handle Castlevania’s weapons, enemies and imagery. Whether they can carry a full game built entirely around that world is exactly what the demo should start to answer.
Launching 15 October in three editions
Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse launches on 15 October 2026 on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox on PC and Steam. Konami is offering a Digital Standard Edition, a Digital Midnight Edition and a Physical Midnight Edition, with both Midnight versions adding costumes plus a digital soundtrack and art gallery. Prices are not included in the official announcement.
The launch date sits in our video game release calendar alongside the rest of a crowded October, where the Switch version is still waiting for its slot. With a fortnight between the demo and launch, there is plenty of time to finish the opening chapter, get a feel for Rose’s movement and decide whether the game earns a place on your October list, knowing your progress will still be there if the answer is yes.