Konami makes the original Castlevania free on mobile for its 40th anniversary
The 1986 classic is free on iOS and Android until October 24, alongside massive digital discounts across the rest of the series.
Konami has officially launched the 40th-anniversary celebration for the Castlevania franchise, releasing the 1993 Famicom port of the original game as a free download on iOS and Android. According to Konami's announcement, the promotion runs until October 24. Anyone who claims the app during this window keeps it permanently.
The Grim Reaper on a flat piece of glass
The mobile port brings the punishing 8-bit classic to modern phones, complete with a virtual controller overlay. I'm not entirely sure how anyone is supposed to beat the infamous Death boss fight using touchscreen buttons, but the price is right. The game is currently only available on the App Store and Google Play in Japan, though we hope to see it launch in the West as well.
Konami specifically chose the 1993 Famicom cartridge version for this release, rather than the 1986 Famicom Disk System original. That late-era cartridge release included an easy mode, which makes the notoriously brutal platformer slightly more forgiving for players relying on a phone screen.
The free release arrives alongside a massive series-wide digital sale across the Nintendo eShop, PlayStation Store, and Steam. The discounts run through early October and cut prices by up to 80 percent. The Castlevania Anniversary Collection sees the deepest cut at 80 percent off, while the recently released Castlevania Dominus Collection gets a 50 percent discount. The Castlevania Advance Collection and PlayStation-exclusive Requiem bundle are both marked down by 70 percent.
These collections cover almost the entire 2D history of the franchise. The Anniversary Collection bundles the early linear action games, including the Genesis exclusive Bloodlines. The Advance Collection packs the three Game Boy Advance titles, and the Dominus Collection rescues the three Nintendo DS entries from their dual-screen hardware constraints. If you somehow don't own these yet, it's the cheapest they have ever been.
Vinyl records and a 2027 concert tour
The publisher is also showing the franchise's massive musical legacy. Tracks from Music From Akumajou Dracula Black & Red hit subscription streaming platforms on September 26. Konami also confirmed upcoming vinyl LP releases for the original game and 1997's Castlevania: Symphony of the Night.
An international symphonic tour, billed as the Castlevania 40th Anniversary An Orchestral Concert, will travel to Tokyo, London, and Los Angeles in Spring 2027. The series has always relied heavily on its gothic soundtracks, composed by industry veterans like Kinuyo Yamashita and Michiru Yamane, making a live orchestral tour a natural fit for the milestone.
The original Akumajou Dracula debuted in Japan on September 26, 1986. It established the Belmont family's eternal war against Count Dracula and laid the groundwork for the exploration-heavy Metroidvania genre that later entries would codify.
This month's celebration is the runway for Castlevania: Belmont's Curse, the first brand-new 2D mainline entry in over a decade. The new game picks up 23 years after the events of Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse, putting players in control of Rose Belmont in 1499 Paris. Co-developed by Evil Empire, the studio that handled post-launch content for Dead Cells, the game launches October 15 for $29.99 on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, PC, and Nintendo Switch.
Pick up Castlevania: Belmont's Curse on Humble Bundle.
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