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Konami is giving away the smartphone version of the original Castlevania for free. The window runs from September 25, 2026 to October 24 at 11:59 PM, and it covers both iOS (App Store) and Android (Google Play).
Here’s the important part. If you download it during that window, it stays playable after October 25. You don’t need to carve out time to actually play it right now. Just grab it.
And there’s one more thing that’s easy to get wrong. What’s being released isn’t the 1986 Famicom Disk System version — it’s the Family Computer (ROM cartridge) version that launched in 1993. The series’ starting point is the Disk System release of September 26, 1986, but what’s landing on phones is the cartridge version that showed up seven years later.
I played the original on the Disk System, over at my brother’s friend’s house. That “ka-konk” sound when you swapped disks, and the 500 yen you’d hand over at the disk-rewrite kiosk. I was thinking about all of that this morning when I hit the button in the App Store.
- The free giveaway ends October 24 at 11:59 PM — download it in time and it’s yours to keep
- Three collections up to 80% off — which one you should actually buy
- Concerts, vinyl, a new game — the full 40th anniversary lineup
- Setting the 40-year history straight
- How much of the Castlevania series you can play on modern hardware
The Castlevania series turns 40 on September 26, 2026. The free giveaway is only one piece of the celebration — sales, an orchestral concert, vinyl records, a pop-up store, and the release date for a brand-new entry are all moving at once.
Which Version Is Free, and How Long Do You Have?
It’s the Family Computer (ROM cartridge) version of Castlevania released in 1993, and the giveaway runs from September 25, 2026 to October 24 at 11:59 PM.
| Title | Castlevania (Family Computer version) |
|---|---|
| Source version | The 1993 ROM cartridge release (not the 1986 Disk System version) |
| Platforms | iOS (App Store) / Android (Google Play) |
| Availability window | Friday, September 25, 2026 – Saturday, October 24, 11:59 PM |
| Price | Free |
| After the window closes | Still playable, as long as you downloaded it in time |
The Disk System version and the cartridge version are the same Castlevania, but they don’t feel the same in the hand. The Disk release runs its audio through the Disk System’s own wavetable sound channel, which is where that thick, sticky low end comes from. The cartridge version loses that channel but gives you no load times in exchange. What you’re getting on your phone is the latter. If your memory of this game is wired to the Disk version’s sound, like mine is, the opening bars of “Vampire Killer” are going to make you go “wait, huh?” That’s not a bug and it’s not a downgrade. That’s the spec.
Let me flag the downside too. You’re playing a stage-based whip-action game on a screen with no buttons. The original’s stair climbing, and its jump arc that gives you zero say in where you land, were never going to be a natural fit for a virtual pad. I want to write up how it really feels after putting proper time into it, but at minimum, go in braced for this: getting knocked down the stairs by a Medusa Head is a whole lot less forgiving when your thumbs have nothing to grip.
Which 40th Anniversary Sale Deal Is Actually Worth Buying?
The answer is clear-cut: Castlevania Anniversary Collection at 80% off. You get the first eight titles, and on Steam it drops from 3,300 yen to 660 yen (tax included).
| Title | Discount | Steam price (tax included) |
|---|---|---|
| Castlevania Anniversary Collection | 80% OFF | 3,300 yen → 660 yen |
| Castlevania Advance Collection | 70% OFF | 2,200 yen → 660 yen |
| Castlevania Dominus Collection | 50% OFF | 2,750 yen → 1,375 yen |
| Castlevania Requiem: Symphony of the Night & Rondo of Blood | 70% OFF | PS Store only · 653 yen |
The sale windows differ by storefront. PlayStation Store starts earliest, running September 23 to October 7 at 11:59 PM, 2026. The Nintendo eShop runs September 25 to October 7 at 11:59 PM. Steam runs September 25 until October 9 at 2:00 AM. Steam alone gets two extra days.
That 70% off on Symphony of the Night & Rondo of Blood is PlayStation Store exclusive. There still aren’t many ways to play Symphony of the Night on modern hardware, so if you own a PS4 or PS5, I’d call this 653 yen bundle the single biggest steal of the whole sale.
The one to watch out for is Dominus Collection at 50% off. It’s the shallowest discount of the three and the most expensive at 1,375 yen. That said, what’s inside is the three later DS games plus Haunted Castle Revisited, and as a package of exploration-style Castlevania it’s remarkably complete. Buy this one because you want to play it, not because it’s cheap.
What Else Has Konami Announced for the 40th?
An orchestral concert, vinyl records, soundtracks hitting streaming, a pop-up store, and a release date for the new game. The free giveaway is a small slice of it.
“Castlevania 40th Anniversary An Orchestral Concert” is set for spring 2027 across three cities: Tokyo, London, and Los Angeles. Castlevania music played by a full orchestra, in three cities around the world — as someone who came in on the original, that one genuinely gets to me. Dates, venues, and ticket details are still to come.
There’s more on the music front. The soundtrack “Music from Castlevania: Black & Red” arrives on streaming services starting September 26, 2026. On top of that, vinyl LP releases of Castlevania and Castlevania: Symphony of the Night have been confirmed. Neither a release date nor a price has been announced for those.
On the real-world event side, Konami has announced a Castlevania POP UP STORE at the Hakaba no Garou gallery, plus a presence at the Horror & Mystery Fest in Daimaru.
And now the main event. The newest entry in the series, Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse, launches on October 15, 2026. It’s coming to PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, PC, and Nintendo Switch. Development is a joint effort between Konami and Evil Empire / Motion Twin, the Dead Cells crew. The setting is Paris in 1499, and the protagonist is Rose Belmont, daughter of Trevor Belmont. A demo starts rolling out October 1, and your save data — levels and all — carries over to the full game.
Which means this free giveaway isn’t a standalone nostalgia stunt. It’s a runway built in front of the demo on October 1 and the new game on October 15. Hand out the original for free on September 25, keep people playing through October 24, and drop the new game right in the middle of that stretch. As a plan, it’s put together awfully cleanly.
Setting the 40-Year History Straight
This is the part where bad information tends to stick, so let’s lay it out chronologically.
| Year | What happened |
|---|---|
| September 26, 1986 | Castlevania launches on the Famicom Disk System = the series’ starting point |
| 1993 | The Famicom (ROM cartridge) version launches = the source for this free release |
| 1993 | Castlevania: Rondo of Blood on PC Engine = the game “Dracula X” points to on its own |
| 1997 | Castlevania: Symphony of the Night on PlayStation = the origin of the exploration-style formula. And it is 2D |
| 1999 | Castlevania 64 on NINTENDO 64 = the series’ first 3D game |
| October 15, 2026 | Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse launches |
People mix this up all the time, so let’s be blunt: Symphony of the Night is 2D. The move to 3D came two years later, starting with Castlevania 64 on the NINTENDO 64. And the name “Dracula X,” used on its own, properly refers to the 1993 PC Engine release Rondo of Blood. The confusion comes from Symphony of the Night carrying “Akumajo Dracula X” in its formal Japanese title — but they’re two different games.
One more. You occasionally see the claim that the original “established horror as a genre in the games industry,” and that’s laying it on too thick. The names that come up as ancestors of the horror game are Alone in the Dark (1992) and Sweet Home (1989), and in terms of genuinely cementing the genre, Resident Evil (1996). The original Castlevania predates every one of them, but the job it was doing was a different job.
What the original invented was action built on spacing. The whip is slow to come out, and once it’s out you can’t pull it back. So you read where the enemy is and commit before you swing. That “decide first, connect second” design stood as the exact opposite of Mario’s “run and jump.” The reason it doesn’t feel dated 40 years later isn’t the horror. It’s that one thing, and I’d bet money on it.
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Can You Play the Major Castlevania Games on Modern Hardware? A Platform-by-Platform Guide
✅ The Verdict
Pick up the three discounted collections plus Symphony of the Night & Rondo of Blood and you can play 16 of the series’ major titles, from the original through the DS era, on modern hardware. Right now the whole stack comes in somewhere in the 3,000-yen range. Add the free mobile release and you’ve effectively covered the spine of the series.
① Free for a Limited Time
| Title | Platform | Price / notes |
|---|---|---|
| Castlevania (Famicom version) | iOS / Android | Free. Download by October 24 at 11:59 PM and you keep it |
② Available to Buy Outright (Currently on Sale)
| Bundle | Key titles included | Price / notes |
|---|---|---|
| Anniversary Collection (8 games) | Castlevania / Castlevania III: Dracula’s Curse / Castlevania: The Adventure I & II / Vampire Killer / Kid Dracula, and more | Switch / PS4 / Steam. 660 yen on Steam (80% OFF) |
| Advance Collection (4 games) | Circle of the Moon / Harmony of Dissonance / Aria of Sorrow / Dracula X | Switch / PS4 / Steam. 660 yen on Steam (70% OFF) |
| Dominus Collection (4 games) | Dawn of Sorrow / Portrait of Ruin / Order of Ecclesia / the arcade Castlevania (Haunted Castle) | Switch / PS4 / Steam. 1,375 yen on Steam (50% OFF) |
| Castlevania Requiem (2 games) | Symphony of the Night / Rondo of Blood | PS4. 653 yen on PS Store (70% OFF) |
③ Playable via Remasters and Reimagined Versions
| Title | Platform | Price / notes |
|---|---|---|
| Haunted Castle Revisited | Switch / PS4 / Steam | A reimagined take on the arcade game. Included in Dominus Collection |
| Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse | PS5 / Xbox Series X|S / PC / Switch | An all-new entry launching October 15, 2026. Demo from October 1 |
④ Not in Any Collection, With No Confirmed Way to Buy
The 3D-era games — Castlevania 64 and Castlevania: Legacy of Darkness on NINTENDO 64, and the PlayStation 2 Castlevania titles — aren’t included in any of the three collections on sale. The Lords of Shadow games still have Steam store pages up, but as of September 2026 no Japanese sale price is displayed.
As for alternatives: if you’re after the heavier weight of 3D Castlevania, waiting for Belmont’s Curse on October 15 is the realistic play. If it’s the exploration-style hunger you need to satisfy, the eight games across Advance Collection and Dominus Collection will carry you for a good while. Beyond that, all anyone can do is wait for these to come back to digital storefronts.
So here’s the order of operations. First, download the mobile version for free and lock it in (you have until October 24). Next, grab the PS Store and Nintendo eShop deals before October 7 at 11:59 PM. On Steam you’ve got until October 9 at 2:00 AM. Then play the demo on October 1 and get yourself ready for the new game on October 15.
The Castlevania series turns 40 on September 26, 2026. The free release is the 1993 Famicom (ROM cartridge) version, handed out for iOS and Android from September 25, 2026 to October 24 at 11:59 PM, and downloading it inside that window means you keep it for good. The anniversary sale is running alongside it: Anniversary Collection at 80% OFF (660 yen on Steam), Advance Collection at 70% OFF (660 yen as well), Dominus Collection at 50% OFF (1,375 yen), and, exclusive to PS Store, Symphony of the Night & Rondo of Blood at 70% OFF for 653 yen. The deadlines are October 7 at 11:59 PM for PS Store and the Nintendo eShop, and October 9 at 2:00 AM for Steam. On top of that, there’s an orchestral concert in Tokyo, London, and LA in spring 2027, the soundtrack hitting streaming services on September 26, and the new game Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse arriving October 15 (demo on October 1, with save data carrying over).
Lock in the free version first. Everything else can wait. Forty years on, nobody has managed to copy the spacing of that whip.
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Snicker Kitamura
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