Castlevania was first released on September 26, 1986 and, because of time zones, that means that in Japan it’s already the birthday of this legendary game franchise. Konami wants to celebrate this, after announcing plans to mark its 40th anniversary with a series of franchise-related events. Starting right now with a few surprises.
Castlevania comes home for its 40th anniversary
The biggest surprise, and the one that matters most to us right now, is the release of an Android and iOS app simply called Castlevania. Featuring the first game in the series, we’ll be able to play this legendary game with a few small quality-of-life features, like a save-anywhere function, in a version adapted for mobile devices. But hurry, because although once you download it it’ll be yours forever, this app will be available for a limited time: it can only be downloaded until October 24.
At the same time, they’ve announced a series of concerts for spring 2027, with dates still to be confirmed, under the name Castlevania 40th Anniversary: An Orchestral Concert. With concerts in Tokyo, London and Los Angeles, they should be quite a show for anyone who can attend. They’ve also announced the release of vinyl records of the soundtracks of the first Castlevania and of Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, also with dates yet to be announced.
Finally, besides saying more announcements are on the way, they’ve shown an image in which Simon Belmont, protagonist of the first Castlevania, can be seen in a hallway with four paintings. The first shows the key art for Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse, the next game in the Castlevania franchise, while the next three feature the key art of Castlevania: Curse of Darkness, Castlevania Lament of Innocence and Castlevania: Lords of Shadow, three of Castlevania’s six 3D games. Which suggests that perhaps the franchise’s next announcement has to do with a compilation of Castlevania 3D games. Though that’s still to be confirmed.
