diff --git a/Source/Core/Core/ConfigManager.cpp b/Source/Core/Core/ConfigManager.cpp
index a59dc8a126..3776dec2bc 100644
--- a/Source/Core/Core/ConfigManager.cpp
+++ b/Source/Core/Core/ConfigManager.cpp
@@ -23,6 +23,7 @@
 #include "Common/MsgHandler.h"
 #include "Common/NandPaths.h"
 #include "Common/StringUtil.h"
+#include "Common/scmrev.h"
 
 #include "Core/Analytics.h"
 #include "Core/Boot/Boot.h"
@@ -90,6 +91,7 @@ void SConfig::SaveSettings()
   SaveNetworkSettings(ini);
   SaveBluetoothPassthroughSettings(ini);
   SaveUSBPassthroughSettings(ini);
+  SaveAutoUpdateSettings(ini);
 
   ini.Save(File::GetUserPath(F_DOLPHINCONFIG_IDX));
 
@@ -370,6 +372,14 @@ void SConfig::SaveUSBPassthroughSettings(IniFile& ini)
   section->Set("Devices", devices_string);
 }
 
+void SConfig::SaveAutoUpdateSettings(IniFile& ini)
+{
+  IniFile::Section* section = ini.GetOrCreateSection("AutoUpdate");
+
+  section->Set("TrackForTesting", m_auto_update_track);
+  section->Set("HashOverride", m_auto_update_hash_override);
+}
+
 void SConfig::LoadSettings()
 {
   Config::Load();
@@ -391,6 +401,7 @@ void SConfig::LoadSettings()
   LoadAnalyticsSettings(ini);
   LoadBluetoothPassthroughSettings(ini);
   LoadUSBPassthroughSettings(ini);
+  LoadAutoUpdateSettings(ini);
 }
 
 void SConfig::LoadGeneralSettings(IniFile& ini)
@@ -671,6 +682,15 @@ void SConfig::LoadUSBPassthroughSettings(IniFile& ini)
   }
 }
 
+void SConfig::LoadAutoUpdateSettings(IniFile& ini)
+{
+  IniFile::Section* section = ini.GetOrCreateSection("AutoUpdate");
+
+  // TODO: Rename and default to SCM_UPDATE_TRACK_STR when ready for general consumption.
+  section->Get("TrackForTesting", &m_auto_update_track, "");
+  section->Get("HashOverride", &m_auto_update_hash_override, "");
+}
+
 void SConfig::ResetRunningGameMetadata()
 {
   SetRunningGameMetadata("00000000", 0, 0, Core::TitleDatabase::TitleType::Other);
diff --git a/Source/Core/Core/ConfigManager.h b/Source/Core/Core/ConfigManager.h
index a95c8bdc95..8b045250a6 100644
--- a/Source/Core/Core/ConfigManager.h
+++ b/Source/Core/Core/ConfigManager.h
@@ -316,6 +316,10 @@ struct SConfig
   bool m_SSLDumpRootCA;
   bool m_SSLDumpPeerCert;
 
+  // Auto-update settings
+  std::string m_auto_update_track;
+  std::string m_auto_update_hash_override;
+
   SConfig(const SConfig&) = delete;
   SConfig& operator=(const SConfig&) = delete;
   SConfig(SConfig&&) = delete;
@@ -349,6 +353,7 @@ private:
   void SaveAnalyticsSettings(IniFile& ini);
   void SaveBluetoothPassthroughSettings(IniFile& ini);
   void SaveUSBPassthroughSettings(IniFile& ini);
+  void SaveAutoUpdateSettings(IniFile& ini);
 
   void LoadGeneralSettings(IniFile& ini);
   void LoadInterfaceSettings(IniFile& ini);
@@ -363,6 +368,7 @@ private:
   void LoadAnalyticsSettings(IniFile& ini);
   void LoadBluetoothPassthroughSettings(IniFile& ini);
   void LoadUSBPassthroughSettings(IniFile& ini);
+  void LoadAutoUpdateSettings(IniFile& ini);
 
   void SetRunningGameMetadata(const std::string& game_id, u64 title_id, u16 revision,
                               Core::TitleDatabase::TitleType type);
diff --git a/Source/Core/DolphinQt2/Main.cpp b/Source/Core/DolphinQt2/Main.cpp
index e3cc6f00ee..bde128bbc0 100644
--- a/Source/Core/DolphinQt2/Main.cpp
+++ b/Source/Core/DolphinQt2/Main.cpp
@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@
 #include <QApplication>
 #include <QMessageBox>
 #include <QObject>
+#include <QWidget>
 
 #include "Common/MsgHandler.h"
 #include "Core/Analytics.h"
@@ -20,6 +21,7 @@
 #include "DolphinQt2/Resources.h"
 #include "DolphinQt2/Settings.h"
 #include "DolphinQt2/Translation.h"
+#include "UICommon/AutoUpdate.h"
 #include "UICommon/CommandLineParse.h"
 #include "UICommon/UICommon.h"
 
@@ -50,6 +52,35 @@ static bool QtMsgAlertHandler(const char* caption, const char* text, bool yes_no
   });
 }
 
+// TODO: This should be replaced with something in a background thread, it performs a blocking
+// HTTP query. It also needs a proper UI, and many other things. But right now it needs to be
+// manually enabled through INI, so all these problems are ignored :)
+class QtAutoUpdateChecker : public AutoUpdateChecker
+{
+public:
+  explicit QtAutoUpdateChecker(QWidget* parent) : m_parent(parent) {}
+protected:
+  void OnUpdateAvailable(const NewVersionInformation& info) override
+  {
+    QMessageBox prompt(m_parent);
+
+    prompt.setIcon(QMessageBox::Question);
+    prompt.setStandardButtons(QMessageBox::Yes | QMessageBox::No);
+    prompt.setText(QString::fromUtf8("Update Dolphin to version %1?")
+                       .arg(QString::fromStdString(info.new_shortrev)));
+
+    const int answer = prompt.exec();
+    if (answer == QMessageBox::Yes)
+    {
+      TriggerUpdate(info);
+      m_parent->close();
+    }
+  }
+
+private:
+  QWidget* m_parent;
+};
+
 // N.B. On Windows, this should be called from WinMain. Link against qtmain and specify
 // /SubSystem:Windows
 int main(int argc, char* argv[])
@@ -152,6 +183,9 @@ int main(int argc, char* argv[])
     }
 #endif
 
+    QtAutoUpdateChecker updater(&win);
+    updater.CheckForUpdate();
+
     retval = app.exec();
   }
 
diff --git a/Source/Core/UICommon/AutoUpdate.cpp b/Source/Core/UICommon/AutoUpdate.cpp
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..3313b706fd
--- /dev/null
+++ b/Source/Core/UICommon/AutoUpdate.cpp
@@ -0,0 +1,139 @@
+// Copyright 2018 Dolphin Emulator Project
+// Licensed under GPLv2+
+// Refer to the license.txt file included.
+
+#include "UICommon/AutoUpdate.h"
+
+#include <picojson/picojson.h>
+
+#include "Common/CommonPaths.h"
+#include "Common/FileUtil.h"
+#include "Common/HttpRequest.h"
+#include "Common/Logging/Log.h"
+#include "Common/StringUtil.h"
+#include "Common/scmrev.h"
+#include "Core/ConfigManager.h"
+
+#ifdef _WIN32
+#include <Windows.h>
+#endif
+
+namespace
+{
+bool SystemSupportsAutoUpdates()
+{
+#ifdef _WIN32
+  return true;
+#else
+  return false;
+#endif
+}
+
+#ifdef _WIN32
+
+const char UPDATER_FILENAME[] = "Updater.exe";
+const char UPDATER_RELOC_FILENAME[] = "Updater.2.exe";
+const char UPDATER_LOG_FILE[] = "Updater.log";
+
+std::wstring MakeUpdaterCommandLine(const std::map<std::string, std::string>& flags)
+{
+  std::wstring cmdline = UTF8ToUTF16(UPDATER_FILENAME) + L" ";  // Start with a fake argv[0].
+  for (const auto& pair : flags)
+  {
+    std::string value = "--" + pair.first + "=" + pair.second;
+    value = ReplaceAll(value, "\"", "\\\"");  // Escape double quotes.
+    value = "\"" + value + "\" ";
+    cmdline += UTF8ToUTF16(value);
+  }
+  return cmdline;
+}
+
+// Used to remove the relocated updater file once we don't need it anymore.
+void CleanupFromPreviousUpdate()
+{
+  std::string reloc_updater_path = File::GetExeDirectory() + DIR_SEP + UPDATER_RELOC_FILENAME;
+  File::Delete(reloc_updater_path);
+}
+#endif
+}  // namespace
+
+void AutoUpdateChecker::CheckForUpdate()
+{
+  // Don't bother checking if updates are not supported or not enabled.
+  if (SConfig::GetInstance().m_auto_update_track.empty() || !SystemSupportsAutoUpdates())
+    return;
+
+#ifdef _WIN32
+  CleanupFromPreviousUpdate();
+#endif
+
+  std::string version_hash = SConfig::GetInstance().m_auto_update_hash_override.empty() ?
+                                 SCM_REV_STR :
+                                 SConfig::GetInstance().m_auto_update_hash_override;
+  std::string url = "https://dolphin-emu.org/update/check/v0/" +
+                    SConfig::GetInstance().m_auto_update_track + "/" + version_hash;
+
+  Common::HttpRequest req{std::chrono::seconds{10}};
+  auto resp = req.Get(url);
+  if (!resp)
+  {
+    ERROR_LOG(COMMON, "Auto-update request failed");
+    return;
+  }
+  std::string contents(reinterpret_cast<char*>(resp->data()), resp->size());
+  INFO_LOG(COMMON, "Auto-update JSON response: %s", contents.c_str());
+
+  picojson::value json;
+  std::string err = picojson::parse(json, contents);
+  if (!err.empty())
+  {
+    ERROR_LOG(COMMON, "Invalid JSON received from auto-update service: %s", err.c_str());
+    return;
+  }
+  picojson::object obj = json.get<picojson::object>();
+
+  if (obj["status"].get<std::string>() != "outdated")
+  {
+    INFO_LOG(COMMON, "Auto-update status: we are up to date.");
+    return;
+  }
+
+  NewVersionInformation nvi;
+  nvi.this_manifest_url = obj["old"].get<picojson::object>()["manifest"].get<std::string>();
+  nvi.next_manifest_url = obj["new"].get<picojson::object>()["manifest"].get<std::string>();
+  nvi.content_store_url = obj["content-store"].get<std::string>();
+  nvi.new_shortrev = obj["new"].get<picojson::object>()["name"].get<std::string>();
+  nvi.new_hash = obj["new"].get<picojson::object>()["hash"].get<std::string>();
+  // TODO: generate the HTML changelog from the JSON information.
+  OnUpdateAvailable(nvi);
+}
+
+void AutoUpdateChecker::TriggerUpdate(const AutoUpdateChecker::NewVersionInformation& info)
+{
+#ifdef _WIN32
+  std::map<std::string, std::string> updater_flags;
+  updater_flags["this-manifest-url"] = info.this_manifest_url;
+  updater_flags["next-manifest-url"] = info.next_manifest_url;
+  updater_flags["content-store-url"] = info.content_store_url;
+  updater_flags["parent-pid"] = std::to_string(GetCurrentProcessId());
+  updater_flags["install-base-path"] = File::GetExeDirectory();
+  updater_flags["log-file"] = File::GetExeDirectory() + DIR_SEP + UPDATER_LOG_FILE;
+
+  // Copy the updater so it can update itself if needed.
+  std::string updater_path = File::GetExeDirectory() + DIR_SEP + UPDATER_FILENAME;
+  std::string reloc_updater_path = File::GetExeDirectory() + DIR_SEP + UPDATER_RELOC_FILENAME;
+  File::Copy(updater_path, reloc_updater_path);
+
+  // Run the updater!
+  std::wstring command_line = MakeUpdaterCommandLine(updater_flags);
+  STARTUPINFO sinfo = {sizeof(info)};
+  PROCESS_INFORMATION pinfo;
+  INFO_LOG(COMMON, "Updater command line: %s", UTF16ToUTF8(command_line).c_str());
+  if (!CreateProcessW(UTF8ToUTF16(reloc_updater_path).c_str(),
+                      const_cast<wchar_t*>(command_line.c_str()), nullptr, nullptr, FALSE, 0,
+                      nullptr, nullptr, &sinfo, &pinfo))
+  {
+    ERROR_LOG(COMMON, "Could not start updater process: error=%d", GetLastError());
+  }
+#endif
+}
diff --git a/Source/Core/UICommon/AutoUpdate.h b/Source/Core/UICommon/AutoUpdate.h
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..6266b6f9dc
--- /dev/null
+++ b/Source/Core/UICommon/AutoUpdate.h
@@ -0,0 +1,38 @@
+// Copyright 2018 Dolphin Emulator Project
+// Licensed under GPLv2+
+// Refer to the license.txt file included.
+
+#pragma once
+
+#include <string>
+
+// This class defines all the logic for Dolphin auto-update checking. UI-specific elements have to
+// be defined in a backend specific subclass.
+class AutoUpdateChecker
+{
+public:
+  // Initiates a check for updates in the background. Calls the OnUpdateAvailable callback if an
+  // update is available, does "nothing" otherwise.
+  void CheckForUpdate();
+
+  struct NewVersionInformation
+  {
+    // Name (5.0-1234) and revision hash of the new version.
+    std::string new_shortrev;
+    std::string new_hash;
+
+    // The full changelog in HTML format.
+    std::string changelog_html;
+
+    // Internals, to be passed to the updater binary.
+    std::string this_manifest_url;
+    std::string next_manifest_url;
+    std::string content_store_url;
+  };
+
+  // Starts the updater process, which will wait in the background until the current process exits.
+  void TriggerUpdate(const NewVersionInformation& info);
+
+protected:
+  virtual void OnUpdateAvailable(const NewVersionInformation& info) = 0;
+};
diff --git a/Source/Core/UICommon/CMakeLists.txt b/Source/Core/UICommon/CMakeLists.txt
index bb5439badd..cbd59b1a17 100644
--- a/Source/Core/UICommon/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/Source/Core/UICommon/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 set(SRCS
+  AutoUpdate.cpp
   CommandLineParse.cpp
   Disassembler.cpp
   GameFile.cpp
diff --git a/Source/Core/UICommon/UICommon.vcxproj b/Source/Core/UICommon/UICommon.vcxproj
index 164cb4f884..4ee5a357c0 100644
--- a/Source/Core/UICommon/UICommon.vcxproj
+++ b/Source/Core/UICommon/UICommon.vcxproj
@@ -42,8 +42,12 @@
     <ProjectReference Include="$(CoreDir)Core\Core.vcxproj">
       <Project>{E54CF649-140E-4255-81A5-30A673C1FB36}</Project>
     </ProjectReference>
+    <ProjectReference Include="..\..\..\Externals\picojson\picojson.vcxproj">
+      <Project>{2c0d058e-de35-4471-ad99-e68a2caf9e18}</Project>
+    </ProjectReference>
   </ItemGroup>
   <ItemGroup>
+    <ClCompile Include="AutoUpdate.cpp" />
     <ClCompile Include="CommandLineParse.cpp" />
     <ClCompile Include="UICommon.cpp" />
     <ClCompile Include="Disassembler.cpp" />
@@ -55,6 +59,7 @@
     <ClCompile Include="GameFileCache.cpp" />
   </ItemGroup>
   <ItemGroup>
+    <ClInclude Include="AutoUpdate.h" />
     <ClInclude Include="CommandLineParse.h" />
     <ClInclude Include="UICommon.h" />
     <ClInclude Include="Disassembler.h" />
@@ -70,4 +75,4 @@
   <Import Project="$(VCTargetsPath)\Microsoft.Cpp.targets" />
   <ImportGroup Label="ExtensionTargets">
   </ImportGroup>
-</Project>
+</Project>
\ No newline at end of file