diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index 52052d7600..5923b5be9d 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -15,6 +15,10 @@ app/release/output-metadata.json
 local.properties
 app/src/main/assets/recommendations.json
 
+# Locally built gamescope payloads: fetched at runtime unless one is present,
+# and never committed — a payload is an artefact of the branch that built it.
+app/src/main/assets/gamescope-gamenative-*.tzst
+
 # Proguard folder generated by Eclipse
 proguard/
 
diff --git a/app/src/main/java/app/gamenative/display/GamescopePayload.kt b/app/src/main/java/app/gamenative/display/GamescopePayload.kt
index 86db420b57..1bfc696088 100644
--- a/app/src/main/java/app/gamenative/display/GamescopePayload.kt
+++ b/app/src/main/java/app/gamenative/display/GamescopePayload.kt
@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@ import java.io.File
 
 /** Versioned gamescope payload (gamescope, XWayland, scaling clients), fetched on the first gamescope launch. */
 object GamescopePayload {
-    const val VERSION = "20261023.4"
+    const val VERSION = "20261024.1"
     const val ARCHIVE = "gamescope-gamenative-$VERSION.tzst"
     private const val STAMP = ".payload.version"
 
@@ -29,16 +29,39 @@ object GamescopePayload {
         val archive = File(filesDir, ARCHIVE)
         if (!archive.isFile || archive.length() == 0L) {
             archive.delete()
-            try {
-                SteamService.fetchFileWithFallback(ARCHIVE, archive, context, onProgress)
-            } catch (e: Exception) {
-                archive.delete()
-                throw e
+            // A payload shipped inside the APK wins over the download: it is the
+            // build that was exercised with this app, and it needs no network.
+            // Only when the asset is absent does the published archive get
+            // fetched.
+            if (copyFromAssets(context, archive)) {
+                onProgress(1.0f)
+            } else {
+                try {
+                    SteamService.fetchFileWithFallback(ARCHIVE, archive, context, onProgress)
+                } catch (e: Exception) {
+                    archive.delete()
+                    throw e
+                }
             }
         }
         install(archive, filesDir)
     }
 
+    /** Whether this APK carries the payload, and if so, copy it out to [dest]. */
+    private fun copyFromAssets(context: Context, dest: File): Boolean {
+        val assets = context.assets
+        val present = runCatching { assets.open(ARCHIVE).close() }.isSuccess
+        if (!present) return false
+        return runCatching {
+            assets.open(ARCHIVE).use { input -> dest.outputStream().use { output -> input.copyTo(output) } }
+        }
+            .onFailure {
+                Timber.w(it, "Failed to copy $ARCHIVE from assets")
+                dest.delete()
+            }
+            .isSuccess
+    }
+
     @Synchronized
     internal fun install(archive: File, filesDir: File): File {
         val target = directory(filesDir)
diff --git a/app/src/main/java/app/gamenative/ui/screen/xserver/XServerScreen.kt b/app/src/main/java/app/gamenative/ui/screen/xserver/XServerScreen.kt
index 27e9e12fd9..93f9519cd1 100644
--- a/app/src/main/java/app/gamenative/ui/screen/xserver/XServerScreen.kt
+++ b/app/src/main/java/app/gamenative/ui/screen/xserver/XServerScreen.kt
@@ -5868,13 +5868,9 @@ private suspend fun setupWineSystemFiles(
         cleanupBionicSteamAssets(imageFs)
     }
 
-    val desktopTheme = if (gameSession) WineThemeManager.gameSessionTheme(container.desktopTheme) else container.desktopTheme
-    val desktopThemeKey = desktopTheme + "," + screenInfo + if (gameSession) ",game" else ""
-    if (desktopThemeKey != container.getExtra("desktopTheme")) {
-        WineThemeManager.apply(context, WineThemeManager.ThemeInfo(desktopTheme), screenInfo, !gameSession)
-        container.putExtra("desktopTheme", desktopThemeKey)
-        containerDataChanged = true
-    }
+    // Better to directly update registry on every launch, no need to rely on container `desktopTheme` value
+    val desktopTheme = if (gameSession) WineThemeManager.GAME_SESSION_THEME else WineThemeManager.DEFAULT_DESKTOP_THEME
+    WineThemeManager.apply(context, WineThemeManager.ThemeInfo(desktopTheme), screenInfo, !gameSession)
 
     WineStartMenuCreator.create(context, container)
     WineUtils.createDosdevicesSymlinks(context, container)
diff --git a/app/src/main/java/com/winlator/core/WineThemeManager.java b/app/src/main/java/com/winlator/core/WineThemeManager.java
index de28f1fda9..33d63fb05c 100644
--- a/app/src/main/java/com/winlator/core/WineThemeManager.java
+++ b/app/src/main/java/com/winlator/core/WineThemeManager.java
@@ -21,6 +21,7 @@ public abstract class WineThemeManager {
     public enum Theme {LIGHT, DARK}
     public enum BackgroundType {IMAGE, COLOR}
     public static final String DEFAULT_DESKTOP_THEME = Theme.LIGHT+","+BackgroundType.IMAGE+",#0277bd";
+    public static final String GAME_SESSION_THEME = Theme.DARK+","+BackgroundType.COLOR+",#000000";
 
     public static class ThemeInfo {
         public final Theme theme;
@@ -30,33 +31,14 @@ public static class ThemeInfo {
         public ThemeInfo(String value) {
             String[] values = value.split(",");
             theme = Theme.valueOf(values[0]);
-            if (values.length < 3) {
-                backgroundColor = Color.parseColor(values[1]);
-                backgroundType = BackgroundType.IMAGE;
-            }
-            else {
-                backgroundType = BackgroundType.valueOf(values[1]);
-                backgroundColor = Color.parseColor(values[2]);
-            }
+            backgroundType = BackgroundType.valueOf(values[1]);
+            backgroundColor = Color.parseColor(values[2]);
         }
     }
 
-    // Game sessions get a black desktop: gamescope composites Wine's desktop
-    // surface, so the wallpaper would show through before the game's first frame
-    // and around its dialogs. The X11 renderers never draw explorer, so it is
-    // invisible there either way.
-    public static String gameSessionTheme(String value) {
-        ThemeInfo info = new ThemeInfo(value);
-        return info.theme + "," + BackgroundType.COLOR + ",#000000";
-    }
-
-    public static void apply(Context context, ThemeInfo themeInfo, ScreenInfo screenInfo) {
-        apply(context, themeInfo, screenInfo, true);
-    }
-
     // The desktop is named "shell", which makes explorer draw its taskbar and
     // start menu; game sessions turn that off along with the standalone systray.
-    public static void apply(Context context, ThemeInfo themeInfo, ScreenInfo screenInfo, boolean enableShell) {
+    public static void apply(Context context, ThemeInfo themeInfo, ScreenInfo screenInfo, boolean showDesktop) {
         File rootDir = ImageFs.find(context).getRootDir();
         File userRegFile = new File(rootDir, ImageFs.WINEPREFIX+"/user.reg");
         String background = Color.red(themeInfo.backgroundColor)+" "+Color.green(themeInfo.backgroundColor)+" "+Color.blue(themeInfo.backgroundColor);
@@ -69,14 +51,8 @@ public static void apply(Context context, ThemeInfo themeInfo, ScreenInfo screen
             }
             else registryEditor.removeValue("Control Panel\\Desktop", "Wallpaper");
 
-            if (enableShell) {
-                registryEditor.removeValue("Software\\Wine\\Explorer\\Desktops\\shell", "EnableShell");
-                registryEditor.removeValue("Software\\Wine\\Explorer\\Desktops\\shell", "ShowSystray");
-            }
-            else {
-                registryEditor.setDwordValue("Software\\Wine\\Explorer\\Desktops\\shell", "EnableShell", 0);
-                registryEditor.setDwordValue("Software\\Wine\\Explorer\\Desktops\\shell", "ShowSystray", 0);
-            }
+            registryEditor.setDwordValue("Software\\Wine\\Explorer\\Desktops\\shell", "EnableShell", showDesktop ? 1 : 0);
+            registryEditor.setDwordValue("Software\\Wine\\Explorer\\Desktops\\shell", "ShowSystray", showDesktop ? 1 : 0);
 
             if (themeInfo.theme == Theme.LIGHT) {
                 registryEditor.setStringValue("Control Panel\\Colors", "ActiveBorder", "245 245 245");
diff --git a/app/src/main/jniLibs/arm64-v8a/libgamenative_drm.so b/app/src/main/jniLibs/arm64-v8a/libgamenative_drm.so
index f7f2bcba10..a8bda9fed8 100755
Binary files a/app/src/main/jniLibs/arm64-v8a/libgamenative_drm.so and b/app/src/main/jniLibs/arm64-v8a/libgamenative_drm.so differ