Get the original Castlevania free before October 24 and keep playing after the offer ends

Konami has made the first Castlevania free on phones. The promotion started on September 25 and ends at 23:59 JST on October 24, which is 10:59 a.m. Eastern the same day. Konami says anyone who downloads the game during that window will still be able to download and play it after the offer closes [1]. This article reflects the situation as of September 26, 2026.

The timing is the point. According to Konami's portal, Castlevania first came out in Japan in 1986 as a gothic horror action game and reached the rest of the world on the Nintendo Entertainment System in 1987. More than 30 titles have followed, and the series turned 40 on September 26, 2026 [1][2].

Players noticed. On Apple's top free games charts updated at 4 p.m. Pacific on September 25, the app ranked 2nd in Japan, 7th in the US and 9th in South Korea [5].

What you are actually downloading

In the US App Store and Google Play the listing is called Castlevania: 40th Anniversary, and both stores show it as free [3][4]. Konami's English page describes it as the original NES version [1]. The Japanese listing is different: it carries the Japanese title, and Konami's Japanese page says the version offered there is the Famicom cartridge release [2].

The App Store lists English and Japanese as supported languages. The app needs iOS 15.6 or later, takes up about 6 MB, and is rated 9+ on the App Store and Everyone 10+ on Google Play in the US [3][4].

Konami describes it as a direct port of the original with an on-screen touchpad, playable offline. The store screenshots show a d-pad and A and B buttons on either side of the game screen, along with SAVE and LOAD buttons [3].

A whip, a castle and one Belmont

If you have never played it, the setup is short. In the small country of Transylvania, Dracula rises once a century, summoned by the prayers of people with evil in their hearts. He returns on the night marking 100 years since the hero Christopher Belmont defeated him. Simon, who carries the Belmont blood, takes the enchanted whip his father handed down and heads to Dracula's castle alone [3].

The store description calls it an intense, hard-to-beat action platformer. It also says this is where Simon's whip moves and the classic music took shape, and that the game inspired the long-running series [3].

Other dates on the anniversary calendar

Konami's portal pairs the free app with a series sale [1]. On the US Steam store, Castlevania Anniversary Collection is 80% off at $3.99, Castlevania Advance Collection is 70% off at $5.99, and Castlevania Dominus Collection is 50% off at $12.49. All three store pages say the offer ends October 1 [6].

Anniversary Collection bundles eight games, including the original Castlevania and Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse, with English and Japanese language support [6]. If a touchscreen d-pad is not for you, that is the way to play the same original on PC.

The new game, Castlevania: Belmont's Curse, is dated Thursday, October 15, on Konami's official site. It is an exploration-focused 2D action game set in Paris in 1499, 23 years after Castlevania III, and follows Rose Belmont [7]. It costs $29.99 on the US Steam store. The Steam page gives the release date as October 14, one day off from the official site [6].

Konami's portal also lists a 40th anniversary orchestral concert in Tokyo, London and Los Angeles for spring 2027 [1]. The nearer deadlines come first: the Steam sale ends October 1, and the free download closes on October 24, nine days after Belmont's Curse arrives. Grab the app before then, and the choice of which Castlevania to play first can wait.

Sources

[1] Konami. Celebrate 40 Years of Castlevania!, Castlevania Portal Site. Castlevania portal, English, checked September 26, 2026.

[2] Konami. 40周年記念 FC版悪魔城ドラキュラ無料配信中！. Castlevania portal, Japanese, checked September 26, 2026.

[3] Apple. Castlevania: 40th Anniversary. US App Store, checked September 26, 2026.

[4] Google. Castlevania: 40th Anniversary. Google Play, checked September 26, 2026.

[5] Apple. Top free games RSS feeds: South Korea, Japan, United States. Lists updated September 25, 2026, 4 p.m. Pacific.

[6] Valve. Steam store pages: Castlevania Anniversary Collection (appid 1018010), Castlevania Advance Collection (appid 1552550), Castlevania Dominus Collection (appid 2369900), Castlevania: Belmont's Curse (appid 4231820). US store, checked September 26, 2026.

[7] Konami. Castlevania: Belmont's Curse. Official site, English, checked September 26, 2026.