Castlevania Belmont's Curse Takes the Physical Sales Crown from EA Sports FC 27 in Spain

Virtual football had a firm grip on the throne in Spain, but this week someone changed the locks. According to data from the Spanish Video Game Association (AEVI) reported by Vandal, Castlevania Belmont's Curse has overtaken EA Sports FC 27 on the physical sales chart for week 42 of 2026, covering 12 to 18 October. The game hit stores on 15 October, so it needed only a few days to climb to the top.

The news matters for two reasons. First, a 2D metroidvania, a genre many assumed belonged to the indie scene, has managed to stand up to the most powerful sports release on the Spanish market. Second, it confirms that a classic series like Castlevania still has commercial pull when it gets the care it deserves. Meanwhile, Control Resonant, the latest from Remedy Entertainment, rounds out the podium on both charts and cements itself as the fastest-selling launch in the Finnish studio's history.

What You Need to Know

• Castlevania Belmont's Curse is the best-selling game in physical format in Spain for the week of 12 to 18 October, ahead of EA Sports FC 27.
• On the chart combining physical and digital sales, Konami's title sits in second place and EA's football game keeps the top spot.
• The game is developed by Evil Empire, a studio known for its work in the 2D action scene, and went on sale on 15 October.
• Control Resonant holds third place on both charts and has already passed one million copies sold, faster than Control and Alan Wake 2.
• The data is published by AEVI and compiled by GSD, with two separate charts: physical only and physical plus digital.

Two Charts, Two Readings

It is worth understanding why the result changes depending on which table you look at. The physical chart measures boxed copies sold in stores, and there, games with a loyal community and a collector-minded audience tend to punch above their weight. Castlevania is exactly that kind of series: many of its fans want the physical edition on their shelf, and that supercharges the in-store launch week.

The combined chart tells a different story. EA Sports FC 27 lives largely off digital downloads, console storefront purchases and the player who buys in every year without ever setting foot in a shop. That is why, when both channels are added together, football reclaims first place and Castlevania drops to the second step. It is not a defeat for Konami, but rather the usual picture of a market where the annual sports title is a year-round selling machine and a new action game concentrates its strength in the first few days.

Remedy and Konami, Two Bets That Pay Off

Control Resonant deserves a paragraph of its own. Remedy has managed to push its new game past one million copies in less time than Control and Alan Wake 2, two titles that were already benchmarks for the studio. The fact that it also lands on the Spanish podium in the same week Castlevania debuts and in the middle of EA's football season says a lot about the health of the brand and the interest its universe generates.

In Konami's case, the move pays off twice over. On one hand, it revives a historic franchise with an external developer that knows the genre well. On the other, it proves that auteur-driven 2D games can share space with blockbusters on a mainstream sales chart, not just in niche digital storefronts. It is a signal that other publishers with dormant classic catalogues should take note of.

Our Take

Here at the Underworld Lordz newsroom we are glad to see a metroidvania at the top of a national chart, but we are not going to get carried away. Beating EA Sports FC 27 in physical sales during its launch week is a statement, and the real test starts now: weeks two and three will show whether Castlevania Belmont's Curse has legs or whether this was a spike driven by the usual fans. EA's football game does not need to win weeks, it needs to win months, and it keeps doing just that.

For content creators, this week leaves a clear lesson. Games with identity and a loyal community generate conversation, clips and debate in a way an annual sports title no longer does with the same intensity. Castlevania and Control Resonant are precisely the kind of titles that lend themselves to guides, speedrun challenges and streams with an attentive audience. If you are looking for what to play on camera this month, the market has already given you two hints.

Our criticism goes to the ecosystem itself. We keep measuring success with two charts that tell different stories and let each publisher pick whichever headline suits it best. Without concrete unit figures, readers only see rankings, and that makes it hard to tell whether Castlevania's physical number one is a storm or a breeze. More transparency would do us all good, players included.

What Do You Think?

A classic 2D series knocking EA's football game off the top, even for a single week, is the kind of news that sparks debate. Do you think Castlevania Belmont's Curse has the strength to hold onto the podium for several weeks, or will everything go back to normal once the launch buzz fades? Tell us in the team chat or on our Discord.