The development of Castlevania: Belmont's Curse began when Konami approached French studio Evil Empire with a proposal for downloadable content for their game Dead Cells. This collaboration evolved organically into the creation of a new Castlevania game, according to developers from Evil Empire and Konami.
Konami producer Tsutomu Taniguchi explained that the initial contact was for a Dead Cells DLC. "They actually approach us with a DLC for Dead Cells," Taniguchi stated via a translator. "And it kind of [became] a little negotiation, because they pitched us DLC, and then we said, 'Well, you can do that, but can we create a new Castlevania game with you?' And so, it was our suggestion. And then we started collaborating and discussing and creating the game together, which is what made Castlevania: Belmont's Curse."
Evil Empire's marketing director Bérenger Dupré corroborated this account, emphasizing that there was no formal pitching stage. "It's actually a more tricky question than it sounds, because it's like there was no pitching stage, and it was more discussion," Dupré said. "We felt like we could be a good fit together to make this game, because we have this experience with 2D combat, and so we just discussed together. I think we didn't officially pitch it. It was more like a common brainstorm."
Creative director Emmanuel Nouaille added that the successful reception of the Castlevania DLC for Dead Cells made further collaboration a logical next step. "It was logical to discuss together to find the right project to continue to work," Nouaille remarked, adding with a touch of sarcasm, "It was very difficult to refuse a proposition."
This narrative contrasts with Evil Empire's previous interactions with Konami. In a 2022 interview, Evil Empire co-founder Benjamin Laulan recounted approaching Konami at the BitSummit conference with the idea of a retail version of Dead Cells in Japan. Laulan had initially hoped for permission to include a simple Alucard skin or weapon as a bonus for Japanese players. Konami's receptive response led Evil Empire to develop a full Castlevania-themed expansion mock-up.
At the time, Laulan reported that Konami agreed immediately, stating, "Yeah, we've been waiting for you guys to ask us." Konami was apparently already fans of Dead Cells. The subsequent years-long collaboration, stemming from a request for a character skin, has now resulted in the first new Castlevania game in years.