Castlevania: Belmont's Curse Release Date and Unlock Times

Release date at a glance

• October 15, 2026

  Same day on every platform

  Konami's press release and the official site give one worldwide date for PS5, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox on PC, Steam and Nintendo Switch.

• Local midnight

  PlayStation and Xbox listings

  Each regional store page carries a midnight timestamp in its own time zone, so the rollout moves west from Australia to the Americas over about 15 hours.

• $29.99 / $39.99

  Standard / Midnight Edition

  The Standard Edition costs $29.99 and the Midnight Edition $39.99 in US dollars. Neither edition includes early access.

• Demo out now

  Since October 1, 2026

  The free demo covers the opening chapter, and its save data carries over to the full game on the same platform and account.

Belmont's Curse was announced at Sony's State of Play on February 12, 2026, and its launch date arrived with the release date trailer at the Xbox Games Showcase on June 7, 2026. Konami's press release followed on June 8 and opened pre-orders for PS5, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox on PC and Steam. At that point the Nintendo Switch version was still undated; on July 15, 2026, Konami confirmed that Switch would launch on the same October 15 date. The full history is on our news timeline.

The game is developed by Evil Empire with Konami, with Dead Cells studio Motion Twin as an adviser, and it is the first new console Castlevania since Lords of Shadow 2 in 2014. After a twelve-year wait, it is no surprise that so many fans want to know the exact unlock hour.

Unlock times by platform

The pattern is consistent across Sony's regional storefronts: every PlayStation page we checked lists midnight on October 15 in that region's own time zone. That is why the commonly quoted “European” time of 22:00 UTC applies to Germany, France and Spain (midnight CEST), while the UK store opens an hour later at 23:00 UTC (midnight BST). The US, Canadian and Brazilian pages all use 04:00 UTC, which is midnight Eastern time and 9:00 PM Pacific on October 14.

The Xbox Store shows the same regional-midnight timestamps for its US, UK, German, Japanese and Australian pages. Treat those as strong hints rather than a promise: they are store metadata, and Konami has not described how the Xbox and Xbox on PC versions unlock. Steam is the real unknown. Its store page shows “Oct 14, 2026” to US visitors, but Valve and Konami have not published an hour, so any Steam time you see elsewhere is an estimate.

Time zone converter

A note on Australia: Sydney, Melbourne and Canberra are on daylight time (AEDT, UTC+11) from October 4, 2026, so the Australian listing's midnight is 13:00 UTC. Brisbane stays on standard time (AEST, UTC+10), where the same moment is 11:00 PM on October 14. In the UK and continental Europe, clocks do not go back until October 25, so BST and CEST are the right zones for launch week.

Countdown to launch

As of October 14, 2026, launch is less than two days away everywhere and only hours away in the earliest regions. Using the store listings we checked, the rollout runs in this order (a static summary, not a live timer):

1. Australia (PlayStation and Xbox listings): October 15 at 00:00 AEDT, which is 13:00 UTC on October 14.
2. Japan: October 15 at 00:00 JST, which is 15:00 UTC on October 14.
3. Germany, France and Spain: October 15 at 00:00 CEST, which is 22:00 UTC on October 14.
4. United Kingdom: October 15 at 00:00 BST, which is 23:00 UTC on October 14.
5. United States, Canada and Brazil: October 15 at 12:00 AM ET (9:00 PM PT on October 14), which is 04:00 UTC on October 15.
6. Steam and Nintendo Switch: hour not confirmed as of 2026-10-14; the date is October 15 (Steam's page shows October 14 for US visitors).

Preload and download size

Preloading is not confirmed as of 2026-10-14. Reports disagree on whether, and when, each storefront allows pre-downloading, and Konami has not made an announcement. If your store offers a download button before launch, use it; otherwise the files are small enough that most connections will finish quickly after unlock.

The Midnight Edition needs about 2 GB more because it adds the Digital Sound & Art Gallery, a separate application with 71 tracks and more than 100 pieces of artwork. Switch owners should note that the eShop's 4.2 GB figure is slightly above Konami's 4 GB minimum for the Standard Edition, so leave some headroom on your microSD card. Full PC specs and the Switch 2 situation are on our system requirements page.

Platforms and prices

Konami's official product page lists the Standard Edition as digital only; the physical boxed release is the Midnight Edition, and its bonus items need an extra download from the online store. Every edition bought early or pre-ordered adds Rose's Alucard Style Costume. Edition contents, retailer extras such as the EMEA SteelBook and regional advice are on our editions guide.

Nintendo Switch and Switch 2

The Switch version shares the October 15 date, but it took a different route there. Konami's June 8 press release said the Switch release date and pre-order start would be announced later, and the official site confirmed the simultaneous date on July 15, 2026. The Switch version runs at 30 fps, compared with 60 fps on PS5, Xbox and PC.

There is no native Nintendo Switch 2 version. Nintendo's store page marks the game “Supported – Game behavior is consistent with Nintendo Switch”, which means a Switch 2 runs the Switch version, and no Switch 2 patch had been announced as of 2026-10-14.

Is there early access?

No. Unlike many deluxe editions, the Midnight Edition does not unlock the game early; it adds the Digital Sound & Art Gallery, the Trevor Style and Sypha Style costumes and the Family's Grace relic. Everyone plays on October 15 according to their store's unlock. The closest thing to early access is the free demo, which has been available since October 1 and lets you start your progress now.

What to do before launch

• Play the free demo on the platform and account you will buy on, and keep the save: level, stats and Works of Mercy carry over.
• Update the full game to the latest version when it unlocks, because Konami requires that for demo save transfer.
• Clear at least 10 GB on PS5, Xbox or Steam and 6 GB on Switch if you are buying the Midnight Edition.
• Check your account's store region against the unlock table above, especially in the UK, where the PlayStation listing is an hour later than in Germany or France.
• Read the reviews roundup if you are still deciding, then the beginner's guide for your first hours.

How we keep this page accurate

We check the official PlayStation, Xbox, Steam and Nintendo store pages and Konami's own announcements directly, and we mark anything they do not state as not confirmed rather than guessing. When the game unlocks, we will record the real Steam and Switch times, any day-one patch and any regional surprise, and log the change on the news page with a new update date.