diff --git a/src/core/gpu_hw.cpp b/src/core/gpu_hw.cpp
index 96644b534..d729f40b2 100644
--- a/src/core/gpu_hw.cpp
+++ b/src/core/gpu_hw.cpp
@@ -209,6 +209,7 @@ bool GPU_HW::Initialize()
   m_wireframe_mode = g_settings.gpu_wireframe_mode;
   m_disable_color_perspective = features.noperspective_interpolation && ShouldDisableColorPerspective();
   m_pgxp_depth_buffer = g_settings.UsingPGXPDepthBuffer();
+  m_allow_sprite_mode = true;
 
   CheckSettings();
 
@@ -793,7 +794,7 @@ bool GPU_HW::CompilePipelines()
                              m_disable_color_perspective, m_supports_dual_source_blend, m_supports_framebuffer_fetch,
                              m_debanding);
 
-  constexpr u32 active_texture_modes = 4;
+  const u32 active_texture_modes = m_allow_sprite_mode ? 7 : 4;
   const u32 total_pipelines =
     2 +                                                                          // vertex shaders
     (active_texture_modes * 5 * 9 * 2 * 2 * 2) +                                 // fragment shaders
@@ -865,11 +866,14 @@ bool GPU_HW::CompilePipelines()
           {
             for (u8 interlacing = 0; interlacing < 2; interlacing++)
             {
+              const bool sprite = (static_cast<BatchTextureMode>(texture_mode) >= BatchTextureMode::SpriteStart);
+              const BatchTextureMode shader_texmode = static_cast<BatchTextureMode>(
+                texture_mode - (sprite ? static_cast<u8>(BatchTextureMode::SpriteStart) : 0));
               const std::string fs = shadergen.GenerateBatchFragmentShader(
                 static_cast<BatchRenderMode>(render_mode), static_cast<GPUTransparencyMode>(transparency_mode),
-                static_cast<BatchTextureMode>(texture_mode), m_texture_filtering, m_force_round_texcoords,
-                ConvertToBoolUnchecked(dithering), ConvertToBoolUnchecked(interlacing),
-                ConvertToBoolUnchecked(check_mask));
+                shader_texmode, sprite ? GPUTextureFilter::Nearest : m_texture_filtering,
+                sprite && m_force_round_texcoords, ConvertToBoolUnchecked(dithering),
+                ConvertToBoolUnchecked(interlacing), ConvertToBoolUnchecked(check_mask));
 
               if (!(batch_fragment_shaders[render_mode][transparency_mode][texture_mode][check_mask][dithering]
                                           [interlacing] = g_gpu_device->CreateShader(GPUShaderStage::Fragment,
@@ -1519,12 +1523,15 @@ ALWAYS_INLINE_RELEASE void GPU_HW::DrawBatchVertices(BatchRenderMode render_mode
                                                      u32 base_vertex)
 {
   // [depth_test][transparency_mode][render_mode][texture_mode][dithering][interlacing][check_mask]
+  const u8 texture_mode = static_cast<u8>(m_batch.texture_mode) +
+                          ((m_batch.texture_mode != BatchTextureMode::Disabled && m_batch.sprite_mode) ?
+                             static_cast<u8>(BatchTextureMode::SpriteStart) :
+                             0);
   const u8 depth_test = BoolToUInt8(m_batch.use_depth_buffer);
   const u8 check_mask = BoolToUInt8(m_batch.check_mask_before_draw);
   g_gpu_device->SetPipeline(m_batch_pipelines[depth_test][static_cast<u8>(m_batch.transparency_mode)][static_cast<u8>(
-    render_mode)][static_cast<u8>(m_batch.texture_mode)][BoolToUInt8(m_batch.dithering)]
-                                             [BoolToUInt8(m_batch.interlacing)][check_mask]
-                                               .get());
+    render_mode)][texture_mode][BoolToUInt8(m_batch.dithering)][BoolToUInt8(m_batch.interlacing)][check_mask]
+                              .get());
 
   if (render_mode != BatchRenderMode::ShaderBlend || m_supports_framebuffer_fetch)
     g_gpu_device->DrawIndexed(num_indices, base_index, base_vertex);
@@ -1844,6 +1851,23 @@ void GPU_HW::CheckForDepthClear(const BatchVertex* vertices, u32 num_vertices)
   m_last_depth_z = average_z;
 }
 
+void GPU_HW::SetBatchSpriteMode(bool enabled)
+{
+  if (m_batch.sprite_mode == enabled)
+    return;
+
+  if (m_batch_index_count > 0)
+  {
+    FlushRender();
+    EnsureVertexBufferSpaceForCurrentCommand();
+  }
+
+  WARNING_LOG("Sprite mode {}", enabled);
+  GL_INS_FMT("SPRITE MODE {}", enabled);
+
+  m_batch.sprite_mode = enabled;
+}
+
 u32 GPU_HW::GetAdaptiveDownsamplingMipLevels() const
 {
   u32 levels = 0;
@@ -2000,6 +2024,7 @@ void GPU_HW::LoadVertices()
       }
       if (pgxp)
       {
+        SetBatchSpriteMode(m_allow_sprite_mode && !valid_w);
         if (!valid_w)
         {
           SetBatchDepthBuffer(false);
@@ -2180,6 +2205,7 @@ void GPU_HW::LoadVertices()
 
       // we can split the rectangle up into potentially 8 quads
       SetBatchDepthBuffer(false);
+      SetBatchSpriteMode(m_allow_sprite_mode);
       DebugAssert(m_batch_vertex_space >= MAX_VERTICES_FOR_RECTANGLE &&
                   m_batch_index_space >= MAX_VERTICES_FOR_RECTANGLE);
 
diff --git a/src/core/gpu_hw.h b/src/core/gpu_hw.h
index 3d497dac2..52bd452b5 100644
--- a/src/core/gpu_hw.h
+++ b/src/core/gpu_hw.h
@@ -40,7 +40,13 @@ public:
     Direct16Bit,
     Disabled,
 
+    SpritePalette4Bit,
+    SpritePalette8Bit,
+    SpriteDirect16Bit,
+
     MaxCount,
+
+    SpriteStart = SpritePalette4Bit,
   };
   static_assert(static_cast<u8>(BatchTextureMode::Palette4Bit) == static_cast<u8>(GPUTextureMode::Palette4Bit) &&
                 static_cast<u8>(BatchTextureMode::Palette8Bit) == static_cast<u8>(GPUTextureMode::Palette8Bit) &&
@@ -108,6 +114,7 @@ private:
     bool set_mask_while_drawing = false;
     bool check_mask_before_draw = false;
     bool use_depth_buffer = false;
+    bool sprite_mode = false;
 
     // Returns the render mode for this batch.
     BatchRenderMode GetRenderMode() const;
@@ -209,6 +216,7 @@ private:
   /// Sets the depth test flag for PGXP depth buffering.
   void SetBatchDepthBuffer(bool enabled);
   void CheckForDepthClear(const BatchVertex* vertices, u32 num_vertices);
+  void SetBatchSpriteMode(bool enabled);
 
   /// Returns the number of mipmap levels used for adaptive smoothing.
   u32 GetAdaptiveDownsamplingMipLevels() const;
@@ -259,6 +267,7 @@ private:
   bool m_clamp_uvs : 1 = false;
   bool m_compute_uv_range : 1 = false;
   bool m_pgxp_depth_buffer : 1 = false;
+  bool m_allow_sprite_mode : 1 = false;
   bool m_allow_shader_blend : 1 = false;
   bool m_prefer_shader_blend : 1 = false;
   u8 m_texpage_dirty = 0;