Castlevania: Belmont's Curse arrives in the series' fortieth anniversary year, and Konami describes it as one of several planned products marking it. It is also the third game in the series to carry Curse in its subtitle, which is the coincidence its title is built on.
Three games, one word in the title
| Game | Story year | Released | Relationship to this game |
|---|---|---|---|
| Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse | 1476 | 1989 | 23 years earlier |
| Castlevania: Curse of Darkness | 1479 | 2005 | 20 years earlier |
| Castlevania: Belmont's Curse | 1499 | 2026 | This game |
Konami's own line for the new game is "set 23 years after Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse", and independent documentation of the earlier games places Curse of Darkness three years after the same event. That makes the three titles a chain of twenty-three and twenty years, with this game's Isaac carrying a grudge against Trevor from exactly that twenty-year gap.
Two cautions on reading that table. The release years and the story years are different columns and should never be collapsed: 1989 is when Dracula's Curse came out, 1476 is when it is set. And the word trilogy is not something Konami uses: sources describe the title as alluding to two earlier games rather than announcing a set. Write it as three games that share a subtitle, which is what it is.
It is not a remake
This is the first question the game gets, and the answer is no. A remake would rebuild Dracula's Curse. Belmont's Curse takes place twenty-three years after it, with Trevor as an older man, with a daughter who did not exist in the earlier game, and with Isaac, whose character exists because Curse of Darkness happened.
Konami's genre line is unrelated to the earlier game's structure as well: this is a 2D action-exploration release, not a modernised version of the 1989 NES design. The story page covers the narrative side in more depth.
What the developers say they drew on
Pre-release developer interviews, as documented by the community wiki, name three specific reference points:
Dracula's Curse and Curse of Darkness for the story, which is consistent with the timeline above. Super Castlevania IV for the whip's swinging and grappling movement, which is the mechanic described on the whip page. * Symphony of the Night for the overall game structure.
That is a notably specific list, and it is more useful than the genre labels, because it tells you which parts of which old games the team was reaching for. It comes from interview coverage rather than a Konami page, so it is context rather than confirmation.
The anniversary year
2026 marks forty years since the series began. Konami has said that Belmont's Curse is one of several products planned around the anniversary, and that the game itself is the first of them. That answers the question of why there is no anniversary collection alongside it: the anniversary plan is a set of releases, and this is the one that exists today.
What is on Steam right now
These are the Castlevania releases on Steam as of October 2, 2026, with their store dates. The store date is when the product appeared on Steam, which is not the same as the original release date of the games inside it.
| Collection or game | On Steam since | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| Castlevania Anniversary Collection | 2019-05-16 | Collection covering the series' origins, with an official ebook |
| Castlevania Advance Collection | 2021-09-23 | Collection of the handheld-era action-exploration games |
| Castlevania Dominus Collection | 2024-08-27 | Three series titles returning together, plus a redesigned arcade-era game |
| Castlevania: Lords of Shadow Ultimate Edition | 2013-08-27 | The 3D reboot line |
| Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2 | 2014-02-25 | Direct sequel to the above |
| Dead Cells: Return to Castlevania | 2023-03-06 | Crossover add-on by Evil Empire and Motion Twin |
| Vampire Survivors: Ode to Castlevania | 2024-10-31 | Crossover add-on |
Two lines in that table are more relevant than the rest. Dead Cells: Return to Castlevania is the previous collaboration between this game's developers and the franchise, which is where the comparison habit starts. And the Dominus Collection is the one whose description says three series titles returned for the first time, which is the kind of collection worth knowing about if you are catching up before launch.
Catching up is optional. Three pages cover the parts of the new game that reference the old ones: the boss list for Isaac and Carmilla, the characters page for the Belmont family line, and the whip page for the Super Castlevania IV mechanic this game rebuilds.
⚠️ What this page will not tell you. Which specific games each collection contains, and the original release year and platform of each pre-Steam entry. Those details are not in the store listings for the collections, and Konami's own site does not carry a per-collection contents page we could verify. Rather than fill the gap from memory, the table above stays at the level its sources support.
FAQ
Is Belmont's Curse a sequel to Dracula's Curse?
Yes. It is set twenty-three years after Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse, and Konami describes it that way.
Are the Curse games an official trilogy?
No. Three games share Curse in their subtitle, and the title alludes to the two earlier ones, but Konami does not call it a trilogy.
Why is there no 40th anniversary collection?
2026 is the series' fortieth year, and Belmont's Curse is described as one of several planned anniversary products, and the first of them. More may follow; this is the one announced so far.
How many Castlevania games are on Steam?
Seven entries, counting collections and two crossover add-ons, as of October 2, 2026.
Do I need to have played the earlier games?
No. Belmont's Curse is a self-contained story. Knowing Dracula's Curse and Curse of Darkness adds context, particularly around Isaac, but the game explains its own setup.