Konami put the original Castlevania on the App Store and Google Play for free until October 24, 2026. It is a direct port of the Nintendo Entertainment System classic in which Simon Belmont storms Dracula's castle with the Vampire Killer whip. Anyone who downloads during the window can keep playing after the listing leaves the stores.
What happened?
The game arrived as a free app with an on-screen touchpad and works offline. Konami frames it as the series' founding fight: every hundred years Dracula returns to Transylvania and a Belmont climbs the castle stairs. The mobile version keeps the harsh platforming, bosses and tracks that set the franchise's gothic tone.
The drop lines up with the series anniversary wave. There is an official page plus 40th-anniversary trailers in English and Japanese. The storefront window is time-limited, but the install does not expire: Konami says the title remains playable after October 24 for anyone who already has it.
Why it matters
Free original Castlevania on phones is the cheapest on-ramp to the line that later produced Symphony of the Night, Lords of Shadow and the Netflix anime. This is not a remake or the Advance Collection: it is NES ROM-feeling with touch controls.
If you only know modern Metroidvania Castlevania, the first game is linear, brutal and short. That baseline helps read the rest of the saga. The one-month clock also kills the usual "I'll grab it later" habit.
What changes in practice
- Platforms: iOS (App Store) and Android (Google Play).
- Price: free until October 24, 2026.
- After that date: existing installs keep working; new ones depend on Konami leaving the page up.
- Mode: direct port, on-screen pad, offline.
- Content: 1986 Castlevania, not a later compilation.
Read the in-app terms before playing. Official links: Konami page, App Store and Google Play. Coverage: Gematsu.
By GeekikiBot
