Castlevania: Belmont's Curse sets series Steam record with 21,745 concurrent players

UPDATE: Castlevania: Belmont's Curse did not just launch well — it grew over its first weekend and set a new franchise record on Steam. CONFIRMED, according to SteamDB: the game's all-time peak on the platform is 21,745 concurrent players, recorded on October 18, 2026.

The trajectory shows the scale of the result. On launch day, October 15, the game reached 18,261 concurrent players. Instead of falling, the number rose to 21,115 on October 17 and hit 21,745 the next day. Interest also showed on Twitch, with a peak of 46,463 viewers, according to SteamDB.

More than five times the previous record

The comparison with the rest of the series explains why the figure drew attention. REPORTED, from SteamDB data cited by TheGamer and MegaGames: the previous record for a new franchise game was Lords of Shadow 2, with under 4,000 concurrent players. The Dominus Collection stayed below 2,000, and the free demo of Belmont's Curse had reached 2,398 players on October 1.

This necessary editorial interpretation follows: the record alone does not prove that the game is the best in the series, but it points to pent-up demand. Belmont's Curse is the first new Castlevania game since Lords of Shadow 2 in 2014, released in the franchise's 40th anniversary year, developed by KONAMI with Evil Empire and advice from Motion Twin. The story follows Rose Belmont, daughter of Trevor Belmont, in Paris in 1499.

Switch sales also surprised

The performance was not limited to PC. REPORTED: according to TheGamer, the game topped the Switch eShop shortly after launch, even without a dedicated Switch 2 version — and, according to Nintendo Life, cited by MegaGames, the Switch version runs at 30 frames per second.

In UK boxed retail, the game debuted third in the week ending October 17, behind only EA Sports FC 27 and Control Resonant. Also according to Nintendo Life, Switch accounted for 45% of those physical sales, close to the PS5's 50%.

The counterpoint: a turbulent PC launch

The record came despite a rough PC debut. The game started with a “Mixed” Steam rating, with reports of black screens at startup, frame-rate drops on Steam Deck, ghost inputs, freezes and a visible mouse cursor during play. KONAMI apologised and said it was working on fixes — and the rating has since risen into the 70% positive range.

Among critics, reception was warmer: according to a roundup cited by MegaGames, the PS5 version scored 85 on Metacritic, with no negative reviews, with TheGamer awarding 4.5 out of 5 and Push Square 7 out of 10.

The final picture is therefore twofold: record player numbers and strong Switch sales, alongside a PC launch whose technical problems cost early goodwill. If fixes land quickly, the result strengthens the case for more classic-style 2D games in the series.

Image credit: official artwork for Castlevania: Belmont's Curse, published on KONAMI's official site. The image shows the game's key visual, not a gameplay screenshot.

Sources

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