With Konami recently registering a trademark for “Castlevania,” it seems likely that a new Castlevania game is on the way.
This comes only days after Konami listened to fans’ demands for a new Castlevania game and released a Dead Cells Expansion containing a crossover with the long-dormant brand, which was met with moderate success.
The Dracula-themed series began off in 1986 and is largely credited with popularizing the metroidvania genre (a mash-up of the words Metroid and Castlevania).
Despite the fact that games of this style aren’t as common as they once were, many of the genre’s defining characteristics remain embedded in modern games.
Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2 was the last core chapter in the franchise, and it was met with mixed reviews from fans and reviewers alike when it was released in 2014.
After its dispute with Hideo Kojima during the creation of Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain, which was published in 2015, Konami has been decreasing its conventional game development efforts in favor of a stronger concentration on arcades.
Since the corporation’s pachinko endeavors suffered a blow owing to the lockdowns caused by the epidemic, some analysts speculated that the company might reconsider this strategy.
Despite the fact that this trademark, which may be related to Castlevania, and the confirmed revival of the Silent Hill series give the impression that those predictions have come true, Konami’s financial situation is actually better than ever, with record revenue and profits for the previous fiscal year, which it ended in the black by more than $550 million.
Yet, the series’ continued popularity is shown by the favorable reception to the recent Dead Cells DLC and the popularity of the Netflix Castlevania anime, so a new game in the series is not out of the question.
If this file ever leads to anything, though, it will be interesting to see if the “Project Zircon” trademark is genuinely a hint at a Castlevania revival.
