diff --git a/Source/Core/Core/Core.cpp b/Source/Core/Core/Core.cpp
index 1e940d1fed..6c4b639a9c 100644
--- a/Source/Core/Core/Core.cpp
+++ b/Source/Core/Core/Core.cpp
@@ -83,10 +83,10 @@
 #include "InputCommon/ControllerInterface/ControllerInterface.h"
 #include "InputCommon/GCAdapter.h"
 
+#include "VideoCommon/Assets/CustomAssetLoader.h"
 #include "VideoCommon/AsyncRequests.h"
 #include "VideoCommon/Fifo.h"
 #include "VideoCommon/FrameDumper.h"
-#include "VideoCommon/HiresTextures.h"
 #include "VideoCommon/OnScreenDisplay.h"
 #include "VideoCommon/PerformanceMetrics.h"
 #include "VideoCommon/Present.h"
@@ -530,6 +530,9 @@ static void EmuThread(std::unique_ptr<BootParameters> boot, WindowSystemInfo wsi
 
   FreeLook::LoadInputConfig();
 
+  system.GetCustomAssetLoader().Init();
+  Common::ScopeGuard asset_loader_guard([&system] { system.GetCustomAssetLoader().Shutdown(); });
+
   Movie::Init(*boot);
   Common::ScopeGuard movie_guard{&Movie::Shutdown};
 
@@ -581,10 +584,6 @@ static void EmuThread(std::unique_ptr<BootParameters> boot, WindowSystemInfo wsi
     return;
   }
 
-  // Inputs loading may have generated custom dynamic textures
-  // it's now ok to initialize any custom textures
-  HiresTexture::Update();
-
   AudioCommon::PostInitSoundStream(system);
 
   // The hardware is initialized.
diff --git a/Source/Core/VideoCommon/HiresTextures.cpp b/Source/Core/VideoCommon/HiresTextures.cpp
index 0227105d19..27fc75ec4d 100644
--- a/Source/Core/VideoCommon/HiresTextures.cpp
+++ b/Source/Core/VideoCommon/HiresTextures.cpp
@@ -19,38 +19,67 @@
 #include "Common/CommonPaths.h"
 #include "Common/FileSearch.h"
 #include "Common/FileUtil.h"
-#include "Common/Flag.h"
-#include "Common/IOFile.h"
-#include "Common/Image.h"
 #include "Common/Logging/Log.h"
-#include "Common/MemoryUtil.h"
 #include "Common/StringUtil.h"
-#include "Common/Swap.h"
-#include "Common/Thread.h"
-#include "Common/Timer.h"
 #include "Core/Config/GraphicsSettings.h"
 #include "Core/ConfigManager.h"
+#include "Core/System.h"
+#include "VideoCommon/Assets/CustomAsset.h"
+#include "VideoCommon/Assets/CustomAssetLoader.h"
+#include "VideoCommon/Assets/DirectFilesystemAssetLibrary.h"
 #include "VideoCommon/OnScreenDisplay.h"
 #include "VideoCommon/VideoConfig.h"
 
-struct DiskTexture
-{
-  std::string path;
-  bool has_arbitrary_mipmaps;
-};
-
 constexpr std::string_view s_format_prefix{"tex1_"};
 
-static std::unordered_map<std::string, DiskTexture> s_textureMap;
-static std::unordered_map<std::string, std::shared_ptr<HiresTexture>> s_textureCache;
-static std::mutex s_textureCacheMutex;
-static Common::Flag s_textureCacheAbortLoading;
+static std::unordered_map<std::string, std::shared_ptr<HiresTexture>> s_hires_texture_cache;
+static std::unordered_map<std::string, bool> s_hires_texture_id_to_arbmipmap;
 
-static std::thread s_prefetcher;
+static auto s_file_library = std::make_shared<VideoCommon::DirectFilesystemAssetLibrary>();
+
+namespace
+{
+std::pair<std::string, bool> GetNameArbPair(const TextureInfo& texture_info)
+{
+  if (s_hires_texture_id_to_arbmipmap.empty())
+    return {"", false};
+
+  const auto texture_name_details = texture_info.CalculateTextureName();
+  // look for an exact match first
+  const std::string full_name = texture_name_details.GetFullName();
+  if (auto iter = s_hires_texture_id_to_arbmipmap.find(full_name);
+      iter != s_hires_texture_id_to_arbmipmap.end())
+  {
+    return {full_name, iter->second};
+  }
+
+  // Single wildcard ignoring the tlut hash
+  const std::string texture_name_single_wildcard_tlut =
+      fmt::format("{}_{}_$_{}", texture_name_details.base_name, texture_name_details.texture_name,
+                  texture_name_details.format_name);
+  if (auto iter = s_hires_texture_id_to_arbmipmap.find(texture_name_single_wildcard_tlut);
+      iter != s_hires_texture_id_to_arbmipmap.end())
+  {
+    return {texture_name_single_wildcard_tlut, iter->second};
+  }
+
+  // Single wildcard ignoring the texture hash
+  const std::string texture_name_single_wildcard_tex =
+      fmt::format("{}_${}_{}", texture_name_details.base_name, texture_name_details.tlut_name,
+                  texture_name_details.format_name);
+  if (auto iter = s_hires_texture_id_to_arbmipmap.find(texture_name_single_wildcard_tex);
+      iter != s_hires_texture_id_to_arbmipmap.end())
+  {
+    return {texture_name_single_wildcard_tex, iter->second};
+  }
+
+  return {"", false};
+}
+}  // namespace
 
 void HiresTexture::Init()
 {
-  // Note: Update is not called here so that we handle dynamic textures on startup more gracefully
+  Update();
 }
 
 void HiresTexture::Shutdown()
@@ -60,28 +89,19 @@ void HiresTexture::Shutdown()
 
 void HiresTexture::Update()
 {
-  if (s_prefetcher.joinable())
-  {
-    s_textureCacheAbortLoading.Set();
-    s_prefetcher.join();
-  }
-
   if (!g_ActiveConfig.bHiresTextures)
   {
     Clear();
     return;
   }
 
-  if (!g_ActiveConfig.bCacheHiresTextures)
-  {
-    s_textureCache.clear();
-  }
-
   const std::string& game_id = SConfig::GetInstance().GetGameID();
   const std::set<std::string> texture_directories =
       GetTextureDirectoriesWithGameId(File::GetUserPath(D_HIRESTEXTURES_IDX), game_id);
   const std::vector<std::string> extensions{".png", ".dds"};
 
+  auto& system = Core::System::GetInstance();
+
   for (const auto& texture_directory : texture_directories)
   {
     const auto texture_paths =
@@ -100,8 +120,20 @@ void HiresTexture::Update()
         if (has_arbitrary_mipmaps)
           filename.erase(arb_index, 4);
 
+        // Since this is just a texture (single file) the mapper doesn't really matter
+        // just provide a string
+        s_file_library->SetAssetIDMapData(filename,
+                                          std::map<std::string, std::filesystem::path>{{"", path}});
+
+        if (g_ActiveConfig.bCacheHiresTextures)
+        {
+          auto hires_texture = std::make_shared<HiresTexture>(
+              has_arbitrary_mipmaps,
+              system.GetCustomAssetLoader().LoadGameTexture(filename, s_file_library));
+          s_hires_texture_cache.try_emplace(filename, std::move(hires_texture));
+        }
         const auto [it, inserted] =
-            s_textureMap.try_emplace(filename, DiskTexture{path, has_arbitrary_mipmaps});
+            s_hires_texture_id_to_arbmipmap.try_emplace(filename, has_arbitrary_mipmaps);
         if (!inserted)
         {
           failed_insert = true;
@@ -115,269 +147,43 @@ void HiresTexture::Update()
                     texture_directory);
     }
   }
-
-  if (g_ActiveConfig.bCacheHiresTextures)
-  {
-    // remove cached but deleted textures
-    auto iter = s_textureCache.begin();
-    while (iter != s_textureCache.end())
-    {
-      if (s_textureMap.find(iter->first) == s_textureMap.end())
-      {
-        iter = s_textureCache.erase(iter);
-      }
-      else
-      {
-        iter++;
-      }
-    }
-
-    s_textureCacheAbortLoading.Clear();
-    s_prefetcher = std::thread(Prefetch);
-  }
 }
 
 void HiresTexture::Clear()
 {
-  if (s_prefetcher.joinable())
-  {
-    s_textureCacheAbortLoading.Set();
-    s_prefetcher.join();
-  }
-  s_textureMap.clear();
-  s_textureCache.clear();
-}
-
-void HiresTexture::Prefetch()
-{
-  Common::SetCurrentThreadName("Prefetcher");
-
-  size_t size_sum = 0;
-  const size_t sys_mem = Common::MemPhysical();
-  const size_t recommended_min_mem = 2 * size_t(1024 * 1024 * 1024);
-  // keep 2GB memory for system stability if system RAM is 4GB+ - use half of memory in other cases
-  const size_t max_mem =
-      (sys_mem / 2 < recommended_min_mem) ? (sys_mem / 2) : (sys_mem - recommended_min_mem);
-
-  Common::Timer timer;
-  timer.Start();
-  for (const auto& entry : s_textureMap)
-  {
-    const std::string& base_filename = entry.first;
-
-    if (base_filename.find("_mip") == std::string::npos)
-    {
-      std::unique_lock<std::mutex> lk(s_textureCacheMutex);
-
-      auto iter = s_textureCache.find(base_filename);
-      if (iter == s_textureCache.end())
-      {
-        // unlock while loading a texture. This may result in a race condition where
-        // we'll load a texture twice, but it reduces the stuttering a lot.
-        lk.unlock();
-        std::unique_ptr<HiresTexture> texture = Load(base_filename, 0, 0);
-        lk.lock();
-        if (texture)
-        {
-          std::shared_ptr<HiresTexture> ptr(std::move(texture));
-          iter = s_textureCache.insert(iter, std::make_pair(base_filename, ptr));
-        }
-      }
-      if (iter != s_textureCache.end())
-      {
-        for (const VideoCommon::CustomTextureData::Level& l : iter->second->m_data.m_levels)
-          size_sum += l.data.size();
-      }
-    }
-
-    if (s_textureCacheAbortLoading.IsSet())
-    {
-      return;
-    }
-
-    if (size_sum > max_mem)
-    {
-      Config::SetCurrent(Config::GFX_HIRES_TEXTURES, false);
-
-      OSD::AddMessage(
-          fmt::format(
-              "Custom Textures prefetching after {:.1f} MB aborted, not enough RAM available",
-              size_sum / (1024.0 * 1024.0)),
-          10000);
-      return;
-    }
-  }
-
-  OSD::AddMessage(fmt::format("Custom Textures loaded, {:.1f} MB in {:.1f}s",
-                              size_sum / (1024.0 * 1024.0), timer.ElapsedMs() / 1000.0),
-                  10000);
-}
-
-std::string HiresTexture::GenBaseName(const TextureInfo& texture_info, bool dump)
-{
-  if (!dump && s_textureMap.empty())
-    return "";
-
-  const auto texture_name_details = texture_info.CalculateTextureName();
-
-  // look for an exact match first
-  const std::string full_name = texture_name_details.GetFullName();
-  if (dump || s_textureMap.find(full_name) != s_textureMap.end())
-    return full_name;
-
-  // else try and find a wildcard
-  if (!dump)
-  {
-    // Single wildcard ignoring the tlut hash
-    const std::string texture_name_single_wildcard_tlut =
-        fmt::format("{}_{}_$_{}", texture_name_details.base_name, texture_name_details.texture_name,
-                    texture_name_details.format_name);
-    if (s_textureMap.find(texture_name_single_wildcard_tlut) != s_textureMap.end())
-      return texture_name_single_wildcard_tlut;
-
-    // Single wildcard ignoring the texture hash
-    const std::string texture_name_single_wildcard_tex =
-        fmt::format("{}_${}_{}", texture_name_details.base_name, texture_name_details.tlut_name,
-                    texture_name_details.format_name);
-    if (s_textureMap.find(texture_name_single_wildcard_tex) != s_textureMap.end())
-      return texture_name_single_wildcard_tex;
-  }
-
-  return "";
+  s_hires_texture_cache.clear();
+  s_hires_texture_id_to_arbmipmap.clear();
+  s_file_library = std::make_shared<VideoCommon::DirectFilesystemAssetLibrary>();
 }
 
 std::shared_ptr<HiresTexture> HiresTexture::Search(const TextureInfo& texture_info)
 {
-  const std::string base_filename = GenBaseName(texture_info);
+  const auto [base_filename, has_arb_mipmaps] = GetNameArbPair(texture_info);
+  if (base_filename == "")
+    return nullptr;
 
-  std::lock_guard<std::mutex> lk(s_textureCacheMutex);
-
-  auto iter = s_textureCache.find(base_filename);
-  if (iter != s_textureCache.end())
+  if (auto iter = s_hires_texture_cache.find(base_filename); iter != s_hires_texture_cache.end())
   {
     return iter->second;
   }
-
-  std::shared_ptr<HiresTexture> ptr(
-      Load(base_filename, texture_info.GetRawWidth(), texture_info.GetRawHeight()));
-
-  if (ptr && g_ActiveConfig.bCacheHiresTextures)
+  else
   {
-    s_textureCache[base_filename] = ptr;
+    auto& system = Core::System::GetInstance();
+    auto hires_texture = std::make_shared<HiresTexture>(
+        has_arb_mipmaps,
+        system.GetCustomAssetLoader().LoadGameTexture(base_filename, s_file_library));
+    if (g_ActiveConfig.bCacheHiresTextures)
+    {
+      s_hires_texture_cache.try_emplace(base_filename, hires_texture);
+    }
+    return hires_texture;
   }
-
-  return ptr;
 }
 
-std::unique_ptr<HiresTexture> HiresTexture::Load(const std::string& base_filename, u32 width,
-                                                 u32 height)
+HiresTexture::HiresTexture(bool has_arbitrary_mipmaps,
+                           std::shared_ptr<VideoCommon::GameTextureAsset> asset)
+    : m_has_arbitrary_mipmaps(has_arbitrary_mipmaps), m_game_texture(std::move(asset))
 {
-  // We need to have a level 0 custom texture to even consider loading.
-  auto filename_iter = s_textureMap.find(base_filename);
-  if (filename_iter == s_textureMap.end())
-    return nullptr;
-
-  // Try to load level 0 (and any mipmaps) from a DDS file.
-  // If this fails, it's fine, we'll just load level0 again using SOIL.
-  // Can't use make_unique due to private constructor.
-  std::unique_ptr<HiresTexture> ret = std::unique_ptr<HiresTexture>(new HiresTexture());
-  const DiskTexture& first_mip_file = filename_iter->second;
-  ret->m_has_arbitrary_mipmaps = first_mip_file.has_arbitrary_mipmaps;
-  VideoCommon::LoadDDSTexture(&ret->m_data, first_mip_file.path);
-
-  // Load remaining mip levels, or from the start if it's not a DDS texture.
-  for (u32 mip_level = static_cast<u32>(ret->m_data.m_levels.size());; mip_level++)
-  {
-    std::string filename = base_filename;
-    if (mip_level != 0)
-      filename += fmt::format("_mip{}", mip_level);
-
-    filename_iter = s_textureMap.find(filename);
-    if (filename_iter == s_textureMap.end())
-      break;
-
-    // Try loading DDS textures first, that way we maintain compression of DXT formats.
-    // TODO: Reduce the number of open() calls here. We could use one fd.
-    VideoCommon::CustomTextureData::Level level;
-    if (!LoadDDSTexture(&level, filename_iter->second.path, mip_level))
-    {
-      if (!LoadPNGTexture(&level, filename_iter->second.path))
-      {
-        ERROR_LOG_FMT(VIDEO, "Custom texture {} failed to load", filename);
-        break;
-      }
-    }
-
-    ret->m_data.m_levels.push_back(std::move(level));
-  }
-
-  // If we failed to load any mip levels, we can't use this texture at all.
-  if (ret->m_data.m_levels.empty())
-    return nullptr;
-
-  // Verify that the aspect ratio of the texture hasn't changed, as this could have side-effects.
-  const VideoCommon::CustomTextureData::Level& first_mip = ret->m_data.m_levels[0];
-  if (first_mip.width * height != first_mip.height * width)
-  {
-    ERROR_LOG_FMT(VIDEO,
-                  "Invalid custom texture size {}x{} for texture {}. The aspect differs "
-                  "from the native size {}x{}.",
-                  first_mip.width, first_mip.height, first_mip_file.path, width, height);
-  }
-
-  // Same deal if the custom texture isn't a multiple of the native size.
-  if (width != 0 && height != 0 && (first_mip.width % width || first_mip.height % height))
-  {
-    ERROR_LOG_FMT(VIDEO,
-                  "Invalid custom texture size {}x{} for texture {}. Please use an integer "
-                  "upscaling factor based on the native size {}x{}.",
-                  first_mip.width, first_mip.height, first_mip_file.path, width, height);
-  }
-
-  // Verify that each mip level is the correct size (divide by 2 each time).
-  u32 current_mip_width = first_mip.width;
-  u32 current_mip_height = first_mip.height;
-  for (u32 mip_level = 1; mip_level < static_cast<u32>(ret->m_data.m_levels.size()); mip_level++)
-  {
-    if (current_mip_width != 1 || current_mip_height != 1)
-    {
-      current_mip_width = std::max(current_mip_width / 2, 1u);
-      current_mip_height = std::max(current_mip_height / 2, 1u);
-
-      const VideoCommon::CustomTextureData::Level& level = ret->m_data.m_levels[mip_level];
-      if (current_mip_width == level.width && current_mip_height == level.height)
-        continue;
-
-      ERROR_LOG_FMT(
-          VIDEO, "Invalid custom texture size {}x{} for texture {}. Mipmap level {} must be {}x{}.",
-          level.width, level.height, first_mip_file.path, mip_level, current_mip_width,
-          current_mip_height);
-    }
-    else
-    {
-      // It is invalid to have more than a single 1x1 mipmap.
-      ERROR_LOG_FMT(VIDEO, "Custom texture {} has too many 1x1 mipmaps. Skipping extra levels.",
-                    first_mip_file.path);
-    }
-
-    // Drop this mip level and any others after it.
-    while (ret->m_data.m_levels.size() > mip_level)
-      ret->m_data.m_levels.pop_back();
-  }
-
-  // All levels have to have the same format.
-  if (std::any_of(ret->m_data.m_levels.begin(), ret->m_data.m_levels.end(),
-                  [&ret](const VideoCommon::CustomTextureData::Level& l) {
-                    return l.format != ret->m_data.m_levels[0].format;
-                  }))
-  {
-    ERROR_LOG_FMT(VIDEO, "Custom texture {} has inconsistent formats across mip levels.",
-                  first_mip_file.path);
-
-    return nullptr;
-  }
-
-  return ret;
 }
 
 std::set<std::string> GetTextureDirectoriesWithGameId(const std::string& root_directory,
@@ -425,17 +231,3 @@ std::set<std::string> GetTextureDirectoriesWithGameId(const std::string& root_di
 
   return result;
 }
-
-HiresTexture::~HiresTexture()
-{
-}
-
-AbstractTextureFormat HiresTexture::GetFormat() const
-{
-  return m_data.m_levels.at(0).format;
-}
-
-bool HiresTexture::HasArbitraryMipmaps() const
-{
-  return m_has_arbitrary_mipmaps;
-}
diff --git a/Source/Core/VideoCommon/HiresTextures.h b/Source/Core/VideoCommon/HiresTextures.h
index 0c0ea2adad..ea370f2741 100644
--- a/Source/Core/VideoCommon/HiresTextures.h
+++ b/Source/Core/VideoCommon/HiresTextures.h
@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@
 
 #include "Common/CommonTypes.h"
 #include "VideoCommon/Assets/CustomTextureData.h"
+#include "VideoCommon/Assets/TextureAsset.h"
 #include "VideoCommon/TextureConfig.h"
 #include "VideoCommon/TextureInfo.h"
 
@@ -25,26 +26,14 @@ public:
   static void Update();
   static void Clear();
   static void Shutdown();
-
   static std::shared_ptr<HiresTexture> Search(const TextureInfo& texture_info);
 
-  static std::string GenBaseName(const TextureInfo& texture_info, bool dump = false);
+  HiresTexture(bool has_arbitrary_mipmaps, std::shared_ptr<VideoCommon::GameTextureAsset> asset);
 
-  ~HiresTexture();
-
-  AbstractTextureFormat GetFormat() const;
-  bool HasArbitraryMipmaps() const;
-
-  VideoCommon::CustomTextureData& GetData() { return m_data; }
-  const VideoCommon::CustomTextureData& GetData() const { return m_data; }
+  bool HasArbitraryMipmaps() const { return m_has_arbitrary_mipmaps; }
+  const std::shared_ptr<VideoCommon::GameTextureAsset>& GetAsset() const { return m_game_texture; }
 
 private:
-  static std::unique_ptr<HiresTexture> Load(const std::string& base_filename, u32 width,
-                                            u32 height);
-  static void Prefetch();
-
-  HiresTexture() = default;
-
-  VideoCommon::CustomTextureData m_data;
   bool m_has_arbitrary_mipmaps = false;
+  std::shared_ptr<VideoCommon::GameTextureAsset> m_game_texture;
 };
diff --git a/Source/Core/VideoCommon/TextureCacheBase.cpp b/Source/Core/VideoCommon/TextureCacheBase.cpp
index 5b0bde53ca..90d2c2048f 100644
--- a/Source/Core/VideoCommon/TextureCacheBase.cpp
+++ b/Source/Core/VideoCommon/TextureCacheBase.cpp
@@ -1582,7 +1582,7 @@ RcTcacheEntry TextureCacheBase::GetTexture(const int textureCacheSafetyColorSamp
     InvalidateTexture(oldest_entry);
   }
 
-  VideoCommon::CustomTextureData* data = nullptr;
+  std::shared_ptr<VideoCommon::CustomTextureData> data = nullptr;
   bool has_arbitrary_mipmaps = false;
   std::shared_ptr<HiresTexture> hires_texture;
   if (g_ActiveConfig.bHiresTextures)
@@ -1590,19 +1590,27 @@ RcTcacheEntry TextureCacheBase::GetTexture(const int textureCacheSafetyColorSamp
     hires_texture = HiresTexture::Search(texture_info);
     if (hires_texture)
     {
-      data = &hires_texture->GetData();
+      data = hires_texture->GetAsset()->GetData();
       has_arbitrary_mipmaps = hires_texture->HasArbitraryMipmaps();
+      if (data)
+      {
+        if (!hires_texture->GetAsset()->Validate(texture_info.GetRawWidth(),
+                                                 texture_info.GetRawHeight()))
+        {
+          data = nullptr;
+        }
+      }
     }
   }
 
   return CreateTextureEntry(
       TextureCreationInfo{base_hash, full_hash, bytes_per_block, palette_size}, texture_info,
-      textureCacheSafetyColorSampleSize, data, has_arbitrary_mipmaps);
+      textureCacheSafetyColorSampleSize, data.get(), has_arbitrary_mipmaps);
 }
 
 RcTcacheEntry TextureCacheBase::CreateTextureEntry(
     const TextureCreationInfo& creation_info, const TextureInfo& texture_info,
-    const int safety_color_sample_size, VideoCommon::CustomTextureData* custom_texture_data,
+    const int safety_color_sample_size, const VideoCommon::CustomTextureData* custom_texture_data,
     const bool custom_arbitrary_mipmaps)
 {
 #ifdef __APPLE__
@@ -1741,7 +1749,7 @@ RcTcacheEntry TextureCacheBase::CreateTextureEntry(
 
     if (g_ActiveConfig.bDumpTextures)
     {
-      const std::string basename = HiresTexture::GenBaseName(texture_info, true);
+      const std::string basename = texture_info.CalculateTextureName().GetFullName();
       for (u32 level = 0; level < texLevels; ++level)
       {
         DumpTexture(entry, basename, level, entry->has_arbitrary_mips);
diff --git a/Source/Core/VideoCommon/TextureCacheBase.h b/Source/Core/VideoCommon/TextureCacheBase.h
index 10018732b1..72151c9443 100644
--- a/Source/Core/VideoCommon/TextureCacheBase.h
+++ b/Source/Core/VideoCommon/TextureCacheBase.h
@@ -343,7 +343,7 @@ private:
 
   RcTcacheEntry CreateTextureEntry(const TextureCreationInfo& creation_info,
                                    const TextureInfo& texture_info, int safety_color_sample_size,
-                                   VideoCommon::CustomTextureData* custom_texture_data,
+                                   const VideoCommon::CustomTextureData* custom_texture_data,
                                    bool custom_arbitrary_mipmaps);
 
   RcTcacheEntry GetXFBFromCache(u32 address, u32 width, u32 height, u32 stride);