diff --git a/Content/Documentation/WickedEngine-Documentation.md b/Content/Documentation/WickedEngine-Documentation.md
index 0b012fb4d..0a70cabf7 100644
--- a/Content/Documentation/WickedEngine-Documentation.md
+++ b/Content/Documentation/WickedEngine-Documentation.md
@@ -301,6 +301,8 @@ Calls Render for the active RenderPath and wakes up scripts that are waiting for
 4. Compose()
 Calls Compose for the active RenderPath
 
+Note: the splash_screen texture of the application can be created before application is initialized, in this case this texture will be shown as a full screen image (with cropping, if necessary) while the engine initialization hasn't finished. The splash_screen texture will be also created automatically if a splash_screen.png file is found in the working directory. If a splash screen is not used, then the intialization logging screen will be shown at startup.
+
 ### RenderPath
 [[Header]](../../WickedEngine/wiRenderPath.h)
 This is an empty base class that can be activated with a `Application`. It calls its Start(), Update(), FixedUpdate(), Render(), Compose(), Stop(), etc. functions as needed. Override this to perform custom gameplay or rendering logic. The RenderPath inherits from [wiCanvas](#wicanvas), and the canvas properties will be set by the [Application](#application) when the RenderPath was activated, and while the RenderPath is active. <br/>
diff --git a/Editor/GeneralWindow.cpp b/Editor/GeneralWindow.cpp
index 6082c0fa4..e4b24c41f 100644
--- a/Editor/GeneralWindow.cpp
+++ b/Editor/GeneralWindow.cpp
@@ -519,6 +519,7 @@ void GeneralWindow::Create(EditorComponent* _editor)
 		editor->paintToolWnd.revealTextureButton.SetColor(wi::Color::White(), wi::gui::IDLE);
 		editor->projectCreatorWnd.iconButton.SetColor(wi::Color::White(), wi::gui::IDLE);
 		editor->projectCreatorWnd.thumbnailButton.SetColor(wi::Color::White(), wi::gui::IDLE);
+		editor->projectCreatorWnd.splashScreenButton.SetColor(wi::Color::White(), wi::gui::IDLE);
 		editor->aboutLabel.sprites[wi::gui::FOCUS] = editor->aboutLabel.sprites[wi::gui::IDLE];
 		int scene_id = 0;
 		for (auto& editorscene : editor->scenes)
diff --git a/Editor/ProjectCreatorWindow.cpp b/Editor/ProjectCreatorWindow.cpp
index f5facd538..72ec160c4 100644
--- a/Editor/ProjectCreatorWindow.cpp
+++ b/Editor/ProjectCreatorWindow.cpp
@@ -26,6 +26,8 @@ void ProjectCreatorWindow::Create(EditorComponent* _editor)
 	iconButton.SetText("");
 	iconButton.SetDescription("Icon: ");
 	iconButton.SetSize(XMFLOAT2(128 * 0.5f, 128 * 0.5f));
+	iconButton.font_description.params.v_align = wi::font::WIFALIGN_BOTTOM;
+	iconButton.font_description.params.h_align = wi::font::WIFALIGN_CENTER;
 	iconButton.SetTooltip("The icon will be used for the executable icon.");
 	iconButton.OnClick([this](wi::gui::EventArgs args) {
 		if (iconResource.IsValid())
@@ -57,7 +59,9 @@ void ProjectCreatorWindow::Create(EditorComponent* _editor)
 	thumbnailButton.Create("projectThumbnail");
 	thumbnailButton.SetText("");
 	thumbnailButton.SetDescription("Thumbnail: ");
-	thumbnailButton.SetSize(XMFLOAT2(480 * 0.5f, 270 * 0.5f));
+	thumbnailButton.font_description.params.v_align = wi::font::WIFALIGN_BOTTOM;
+	thumbnailButton.font_description.params.h_align = wi::font::WIFALIGN_CENTER;
+	thumbnailButton.SetSize(XMFLOAT2(480 * 0.4f, 270 * 0.4f));
 	thumbnailButton.SetTooltip("The thumbnail will be used for displaying the project in the editor.");
 	thumbnailButton.OnClick([this](wi::gui::EventArgs args) {
 		if (thumbnailResource.IsValid())
@@ -86,6 +90,42 @@ void ProjectCreatorWindow::Create(EditorComponent* _editor)
 	});
 	AddWidget(&thumbnailButton);
 
+	splashScreenButton.Create("projectSplashScreen");
+	splashScreenButton.SetText("");
+	splashScreenButton.SetDescription("Splash screen: ");
+	splashScreenButton.font_description.params.v_align = wi::font::WIFALIGN_BOTTOM;
+	splashScreenButton.font_description.params.h_align = wi::font::WIFALIGN_CENTER;
+	splashScreenButton.SetSize(XMFLOAT2(480 * 0.5f, 270 * 0.5f));
+	splashScreenButton.SetTooltip("The splash screen will be shown while the engine is initalizing.\nIf there is a splash screen, then it will replace the intialization log display.");
+	splashScreenButton.OnClick([this](wi::gui::EventArgs args) {
+		if (splashScreenResource.IsValid())
+		{
+			splashScreenResource = {};
+			splashScreenResourceCroppedPreview = {};
+			splashScreenName = {};
+			splashScreenButton.SetImage(splashScreenResourceCroppedPreview);
+		}
+		else
+		{
+			wi::helper::FileDialogParams params;
+			params.type = wi::helper::FileDialogParams::OPEN;
+			params.description = "Texture";
+			params.extensions = wi::resourcemanager::GetSupportedImageExtensions();
+			wi::helper::FileDialog(params, [this](std::string fileName) {
+				wi::eventhandler::Subscribe_Once(wi::eventhandler::EVENT_THREAD_SAFE_POINT, [=](uint64_t userdata) {
+					wi::Resource res = wi::resourcemanager::Load(fileName);
+					if (!res.IsValid())
+						return;
+					splashScreenResource = res;
+					splashScreenName = fileName;
+					splashScreenResourceCroppedPreview.SetTexture(editor->CreateThumbnail(splashScreenResource.GetTexture(), 1280, 720, true));
+					splashScreenButton.SetImage(splashScreenResourceCroppedPreview);
+				});
+			});
+		}
+		});
+	AddWidget(&splashScreenButton);
+
 	backlogColorPicker.Create("backlog color", wi::gui::Window::WindowControls::NONE);
 	backlogColorPicker.SetSize(XMFLOAT2(256, 256));
 	backlogColorPicker.SetPickColor(exe_customization.backlog_color);
@@ -138,7 +178,7 @@ runProcess(function()
 
 	-- set up a 3D render path, so if you load a model it will be displayed
 	local renderpath = RenderPath3D()
-	application.SetActivePath(renderpath)
+	application.SetActivePath(renderpath, 1.0, 0, 0, 0, FadeType.CrossFade) -- 1 sec cross fade
 
 	-- set up a simple text that will dynamically change every frame
 	local counter = 0
@@ -147,14 +187,14 @@ runProcess(function()
 
 	-- run an endless update loop, it will run until killProcesses() is called or the application exits
 	while true do
-		update()
+		update() -- blocks this process until next update() is signaled from Wicked Engine
 
 		-- every frame the text is positioned to the center of the screen and display the value of the frame counter
 		font.SetText("Hello World! Current frame counter = " .. counter)
-		font.SetSize(12)
-		font.SetScale(3)
-		font.SetPos(Vector(GetScreenWidth() * 0.5, GetScreenHeight() * 0.5))
-		font.SetAlign(WIFALIGN_CENTER, WIFALIGN_CENTER)
+		font.SetSize(12) -- the true render size of the font (larger can increase memory usage, but improves appearance)
+		font.SetScale(3) -- upscaling the font by a factor of 3 without increasing the true font resolution
+		font.SetPos(Vector(GetScreenWidth() * 0.5, GetScreenHeight() * 0.5)) -- put to center of the screen
+		font.SetAlign(WIFALIGN_CENTER, WIFALIGN_CENTER) -- horizontal and vertical text align
 
 		counter = counter + 1
 
@@ -182,6 +222,10 @@ end)
 		{
 			wi::helper::saveTextureToFile(thumbnailResource.GetTexture(), directory + "thumbnail.png");
 		}
+		if (splashScreenResource.IsValid())
+		{
+			wi::helper::saveTextureToFile(splashScreenResource.GetTexture(), directory + "splash_screen.png");
+		}
 
 		wi::unordered_set<std::string> exes;
 		exes.insert(wi::helper::BackslashToForwardSlash(wi::helper::GetExecutablePath()));
@@ -370,7 +414,7 @@ void ProjectCreatorWindow::ResizeLayout()
 
 	layout.jump();
 
-	layout.add_right(iconButton, thumbnailButton);
+	layout.add_right(iconButton, thumbnailButton, splashScreenButton);
 
 	layout.jump();
 
diff --git a/Editor/ProjectCreatorWindow.h b/Editor/ProjectCreatorWindow.h
index 9fcd4fd12..6672a759d 100644
--- a/Editor/ProjectCreatorWindow.h
+++ b/Editor/ProjectCreatorWindow.h
@@ -12,18 +12,23 @@ public:
 	wi::gui::TextInputField projectNameInput;
 	wi::gui::Button iconButton;
 	wi::gui::Button thumbnailButton;
+	wi::gui::Button splashScreenButton;
 	wi::gui::Button createButton;
 
-	wi::Resource iconResource;
-	std::string iconName;
-
 	wi::gui::ColorPicker backlogColorPicker;
 	wi::gui::ColorPicker backgroundColorPicker;
 	wi::gui::Button colorPreviewButton;
 
+	wi::Resource iconResource;
+	std::string iconName;
+
 	wi::Resource thumbnailResource;
 	std::string thumbnailName;
 
+	wi::Resource splashScreenResource;
+	wi::Resource splashScreenResourceCroppedPreview;
+	std::string splashScreenName;
+
 	void ResizeLayout() override;
 };
 
diff --git a/WickedEngine/wiApplication.cpp b/WickedEngine/wiApplication.cpp
index fbfd4dfea..3848d6516 100644
--- a/WickedEngine/wiApplication.cpp
+++ b/WickedEngine/wiApplication.cpp
@@ -148,8 +148,54 @@ namespace wi
 			viewport.width = (float)swapChain.desc.width;
 			viewport.height = (float)swapChain.desc.height;
 			graphicsDevice->BindViewports(1, &viewport, cmd);
-			if (wi::initializer::IsInitializeFinished(wi::initializer::INITIALIZED_SYSTEM_FONT))
+			static bool splash_screen_check = false;
+			if (!splash_screen.IsValid() && !splash_screen_check)
 			{
+				splash_screen_check = true;
+				std::string splash_screen_path = wi::helper::GetCurrentPath() + "/splash_screen.png";
+				if (wi::helper::FileExists(splash_screen_path))
+				{
+					wi::Resource resource = wi::resourcemanager::Load(splash_screen_path);
+					if (resource.IsValid())
+					{
+						splash_screen = resource.GetTexture();
+					}
+				}
+			}
+			if (splash_screen.IsValid())
+			{
+				if (wi::initializer::IsInitializeFinished(wi::initializer::INITIALIZED_SYSTEM_IMAGE))
+				{
+					// Draw the splash screen while engine is initializing and image renderer is ready
+					wi::image::SetCanvas(canvas);
+					wi::image::Params fx;
+					const TextureDesc& desc = splash_screen.GetDesc();
+					const float canvas_aspect = canvas.GetLogicalWidth() / canvas.GetLogicalHeight();
+					const float image_aspect = float(desc.width) / float(desc.height);
+					if (canvas_aspect > image_aspect)
+					{
+						// display aspect is wider than image:
+						fx.siz.x = canvas.GetLogicalWidth();
+						fx.siz.y = canvas.GetLogicalHeight() / image_aspect * canvas_aspect;
+					}
+					else
+					{
+						// image aspect is wider or equal to display
+						fx.siz.x = canvas.GetLogicalWidth() / canvas_aspect * image_aspect;
+						fx.siz.y = canvas.GetLogicalHeight();
+					}
+					fx.pos = XMFLOAT3(canvas.GetLogicalWidth() * 0.5f, canvas.GetLogicalHeight() * 0.5f, 0);
+					fx.pivot = XMFLOAT2(0.5f, 0.5f);
+					if (colorspace != ColorSpace::SRGB)
+					{
+						fx.enableLinearOutputMapping(9);
+					}
+					wi::image::Draw(&splash_screen, fx, cmd);
+				}
+			}
+			else if (wi::initializer::IsInitializeFinished(wi::initializer::INITIALIZED_SYSTEM_FONT))
+			{
+				// If there is no splash screen, the log is rendered while engine is initializing
 				ColorSpace colorspace = graphicsDevice->GetSwapChainColorSpace(&swapChain);
 				wi::backlog::DrawOutputText(canvas, cmd, colorspace);
 			}
@@ -170,6 +216,8 @@ namespace wi
 			return;
 		}
 
+		splash_screen = {}; // splash screen no longer needed after initialization, it is deleted
+
 		static bool startup_script = false;
 		if (!startup_script)
 		{
diff --git a/WickedEngine/wiApplication.h b/WickedEngine/wiApplication.h
index 13b76033c..262472f64 100644
--- a/WickedEngine/wiApplication.h
+++ b/WickedEngine/wiApplication.h
@@ -52,6 +52,7 @@ namespace wi
 		wi::graphics::SwapChain swapChain;
 		wi::Canvas canvas;
 		wi::platform::window_type window;
+		wi::graphics::Texture splash_screen;
 
 		// Runs the main engine loop
 		void Run();
diff --git a/WickedEngine/wiVersion.cpp b/WickedEngine/wiVersion.cpp
index 83302e827..5824e56a0 100644
--- a/WickedEngine/wiVersion.cpp
+++ b/WickedEngine/wiVersion.cpp
@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@ namespace wi::version
 	// minor features, major updates, breaking compatibility changes
 	const int minor = 71;
 	// minor bug fixes, alterations, refactors, updates
-	const int revision = 788;
+	const int revision = 789;
 
 	const std::string version_string = std::to_string(major) + "." + std::to_string(minor) + "." + std::to_string(revision);