Slow wallpaper loading time on xmb menu.

[KamiLordus]

retroarch__2026_04_15__21_06_35.log

Is there an existing issue for this?

• This is a bug in RetroArch frontend
• I have searched the existing issues

Description

Due to recent changes to the RA, wallpaper loading is slower.

The issue affects the XMB menu and the icon theme. Changing the default monochrome theme to Flatui or Systematic may cause the wallpaper to load more slowly (e.g., when closing a game).

In this situation, instead of the wallpaper appearing immediately, the default XMB menu background (usually blue) will be visible.

This issue is known and has been discussed in more detail on Discord.

Expected behavior

No response

Steps to reproduce the bug

1. Select XMB menu
2. Change the icon theme from monochrome to flatui and systematic
3. Launch and then exit any game. The wallpaper will load with a delay, and the default (blue) XMB menu background will be visible.

Version/Commit

1.22.2 e44b5c3

Bisect Results

No response

Present in the nightly version

Yes, this is reproduced in the nightly build

Platform & operating system

Windows 11

log:

retroarch__2026_04_15__21_06_35.log

[Ryunam]

There's an easier way to reproduce this, without having to run any piece of content:

• Set a custom wallpaper picture;
• set the icon theme to FlatUX/Systematic;
• while in the menu, toggle fullscreen/windowed modes by pressing F.

This will indeed show the background base color for a split second or so, before displaying the chosen wallpaper image.

[KamiLordus]

@Ryunam exactly, thanks for that.

There was also a small error in the report because I was referring to FlatUX and Systematic. On FlatUI, the delay is practically invisible.

[Ryunam]

Bringing this up again, since I noticed that this can also happen with the Ozone menu driver.
Occasionally, when starting RA the Ozone menu driver will display a fully black backdrop before loading the colors of the selected theme. I have not been able yet to figure out a specific commit where this might have started.

[KamiLordus]

I'm 99% sure the problem started here:
#18939
Or just before this post.

Currently, the XMB menu lags significantly when I first launch RA. The entire menu (icons, wallpapers) loads with a significant delay, even with the default monochrome icons enabled.

I have two copies of RA, one on an SSD and the other on a portable HDD. As you can easily guess, on an HDD the menu loading time is even longer.