diff --git a/CringeBootstrap/CringeBootstrap.csproj b/CringeBootstrap/CringeBootstrap.csproj
index e41551e..cbef390 100644
--- a/CringeBootstrap/CringeBootstrap.csproj
+++ b/CringeBootstrap/CringeBootstrap.csproj
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@
         <UseWindowsForms>true</UseWindowsForms>
         <LangVersion>preview</LangVersion>
         <TieredPGO>true</TieredPGO>
+        <PublishReadyToRun>true</PublishReadyToRun>
         <RestorePackagesWithLockFile>true</RestorePackagesWithLockFile>
         <EnableWindowsTargeting>true</EnableWindowsTargeting>
         <RuntimeIdentifier>win-x64</RuntimeIdentifier>
@@ -28,6 +29,7 @@
     <ItemGroup>
       <ProjectReference Include="..\CringeBootstrap.Abstractions\CringeBootstrap.Abstractions.csproj" />
       <ProjectReference Include="..\CringeLauncher\CringeLauncher.csproj" ExcludeAssets="compile" />
+      <ProjectReference Include="..\CringeLauncher\CringeLauncher.csproj" />
     </ItemGroup>
     
 </Project>
diff --git a/CringeBootstrap/CrossGen/CrossGenService.cs b/CringeBootstrap/CrossGen/CrossGenService.cs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..5609487
--- /dev/null
+++ b/CringeBootstrap/CrossGen/CrossGenService.cs
@@ -0,0 +1,248 @@
+using System.Collections.Immutable;
+using System.Diagnostics;
+using System.IO.Compression;
+using System.Reflection;
+using System.Security.Cryptography;
+using System.Text;
+using NuGet;
+using NuGet.Deps;
+using NuGet.Versioning;
+
+namespace CringeBootstrap.CrossGen;
+
+internal class CrossGenService(string gameDirectoryPath, string cachePath)
+{
+    private readonly ImmutableHashSet<string> _excludedAssemblies = ImmutableHashSet.Create(
+        StringComparer.OrdinalIgnoreCase,
+        "VRage.NativeAftermath.dll" // managed C++ is not supported
+    );
+    
+    // assembly with game version constant so hash always changes with game updates
+    private const string CacheKeyFileName = "SpaceEngineers.Game.dll";
+    
+    private readonly string _crossGenCachePath = Directory.CreateDirectory(Path.Join(cachePath, "R2R")).FullName;
+
+    public void CleanCache()
+    {
+        foreach (var directory in Directory.EnumerateDirectories(_crossGenCachePath))
+        {
+            try
+            {
+                Directory.Delete(directory, true);
+            }
+            catch (IOException e)
+            {
+                Console.ForegroundColor = ConsoleColor.Yellow;
+                Console.WriteLine("Failed to clean previous crossgen cache");
+                Console.ResetColor();
+                Console.WriteLine(e);
+            }
+        }
+    }
+
+    /// <summary>
+    /// Run crossgen and return path to game assemblies directory
+    /// </summary>
+    /// <returns>The path to game assemblies directory either original or R2R</returns>
+    public string RunCrossGen()
+    {
+        var cacheDirectory = Path.Join(_crossGenCachePath, GetCacheKey());
+        if (Directory.Exists(cacheDirectory))
+        {
+            Console.WriteLine("Crossgen cache hit");
+            return cacheDirectory;
+        }
+        
+        Console.WriteLine("Starting coldstart crossgen");
+        
+        CleanCache();
+        
+        var crossGenPath = DownloadCrossGenAsync().GetAwaiter().GetResult();
+        if (crossGenPath is null)
+            return gameDirectoryPath;
+        
+        var inputAssemblies = CollectInputAssemblies();
+        ImmutableHashSet<string> references = [..CollectFrameworkReferencesAsync().GetAwaiter().GetResult(), ..inputAssemblies];
+        references = references.WithComparer(StringComparer.OrdinalIgnoreCase);
+        
+        Directory.CreateDirectory(cacheDirectory);
+
+        for (var index = 0; index < inputAssemblies.Length; index++)
+        {
+            var inputAssembly = inputAssemblies[index];
+            var inputReferences = references.Remove(inputAssembly);
+
+            var startInfo = new ProcessStartInfo(crossGenPath, [
+                "--targetos:windows",
+                "--targetarch:x64",
+                "--Ot",
+                ..inputReferences.SelectMany(x => new [] { "-r", x }),
+                "--out", Path.Join(cacheDirectory, Path.GetFileName(inputAssembly)),
+                inputAssembly
+            ])
+            {
+                RedirectStandardOutput = true,
+                RedirectStandardError = true
+            };
+            
+            Console.WriteLine($"Running crossgen... {index/(inputAssemblies.Length-1.0):P0}");
+            
+            using var process = Process.Start(startInfo);
+
+            var outputStringBuilder = new StringBuilder();
+            var errorStringBuilder = new StringBuilder();
+            if (process is not null)
+            {
+                process.OutputDataReceived += (_, args) =>
+                {
+                    if (!string.IsNullOrEmpty(args.Data))
+                        outputStringBuilder.AppendLine(args.Data);
+                };
+                
+                process.ErrorDataReceived += (_, args) =>
+                {
+                    if (!string.IsNullOrEmpty(args.Data))
+                        errorStringBuilder.AppendLine(args.Data);
+                };
+                
+                process.BeginOutputReadLine();
+                process.BeginErrorReadLine();
+                process.WaitForExit();
+            }
+
+            if (process is not null && process.ExitCode == 0) continue;
+            
+            string? logFilePath = null;
+            if (process is not null)
+            {
+                logFilePath = Path.Join(cachePath, $"{Path.GetFileName(inputAssembly)}.log");
+                File.WriteAllText(logFilePath, outputStringBuilder.ToString());
+                File.AppendAllText(logFilePath, errorStringBuilder.ToString());
+            }
+                
+            LogCrossGenException($"Crossgen failed! {(logFilePath is not null ? $"Log saved to: {logFilePath}" : string.Empty)} Skipping crossgen", new Exception($"Crossgen failed for {inputAssembly}"));
+            CleanCache();
+            return gameDirectoryPath;
+        }
+        
+        Console.ForegroundColor = ConsoleColor.Green;
+        Console.WriteLine("Crossgen finished");
+        Console.ResetColor();
+        return cacheDirectory;
+    }
+
+    private static async Task<ImmutableArray<string>> CollectFrameworkReferencesAsync()
+    {
+        var dotnetPacksPath = Path.Join(Environment.GetFolderPath(Environment.SpecialFolder.ProgramFiles), "dotnet", "shared");
+        if (!Directory.Exists(dotnetPacksPath))
+            throw new Exception($"Dotnet shared packs not found in {dotnetPacksPath}");
+
+        const string runtimePackId = "Microsoft.NETCore.App";
+        const string desktopPackId = "Microsoft.WindowsDesktop.App";
+
+        return
+        [
+            ..await CollectFrameworkReferencesFromPackAsync(dotnetPacksPath, runtimePackId),
+            ..await CollectFrameworkReferencesFromPackAsync(dotnetPacksPath, desktopPackId)
+        ];
+    }
+
+    private static async ValueTask<ImmutableArray<string>> CollectFrameworkReferencesFromPackAsync(string packsPath, string packId)
+    {
+        var packDirPath = Path.Join(packsPath, packId, Environment.Version.ToString());
+        var packPath = Path.Join(packDirPath, $"{packId}.deps.json");
+        if (!File.Exists(packPath))
+            throw new Exception($"Dotnet shared pack {packId} not found in {packPath}");
+
+        await using var stream = File.OpenRead(packPath);
+        var ((runtimeFramework, _), _, targets, _) = await DependencyManifestSerializer.DeserializeAsync(stream);
+        var (_, runtime, _) = targets[runtimeFramework].Values.First();
+        
+        return [..runtime!.Keys.Select(b => Path.Join(packDirPath, b))];
+    }
+
+    private ImmutableArray<string> CollectInputAssemblies()
+    {
+        return [
+            ..Directory.EnumerateFiles(gameDirectoryPath, "*.dll")
+                .Where(IsManagedAssembly)
+        ];
+    }
+
+    private bool IsManagedAssembly(string path)
+    {
+        if (_excludedAssemblies.Contains(Path.GetFileName(path)))
+            return false;
+        
+        try
+        {
+            AssemblyName.GetAssemblyName(path);
+            return true;
+        }
+        catch (Exception)
+        {
+            return false;
+        }
+    }
+
+    private async Task<string?> DownloadCrossGenAsync()
+    {
+        const string nugetUrl = "https://api.nuget.org/v3/index.json";
+        const string toolName = "crossgen2.exe";
+        const string packageId = "Microsoft.NETCore.App.Crossgen2.win-x64";
+        var nugetCachePath = Path.Join(cachePath, "x64", $"net{Environment.Version.Major}.{Environment.Version.Minor}");
+
+        var packagePath = Directory.CreateDirectory(Path.Join(nugetCachePath, packageId, Environment.Version.ToString()));
+        var toolPath = Path.Join(packagePath.FullName, "tools", toolName);
+        if (File.Exists(toolPath))
+            return toolPath;
+        
+        using var httpClient = new HttpClient();
+        try
+        {
+            var client = await NuGetClient.CreateFromIndexUrlAsync(nugetUrl, httpClient);
+
+            if (!packagePath.Exists) packagePath.Create();
+
+            await using var stream =
+                await client!.GetPackageContentStreamAsync(packageId, new NuGetVersion(Environment.Version));
+            await using var memStream = new MemoryStream();
+            await stream.CopyToAsync(memStream);
+            memStream.Position = 0;
+            using var archive = new ZipArchive(memStream, ZipArchiveMode.Read);
+            archive.ExtractToDirectory(packagePath.FullName);
+            
+            if (!File.Exists(toolPath))
+            {
+                LogCrossGenException("Failed to find crossgen", new FileNotFoundException("Failed to find crossgen", toolPath));
+                return null;
+            }
+        }
+        catch (IOException e)
+        {
+            LogCrossGenException("Failed to extract crossgen", e);
+            return null;
+        }
+        catch (Exception e)
+        {
+            LogCrossGenException("Failed to download crossgen", e);
+            return null;
+        }
+        
+        return toolPath;
+    }
+
+    private static void LogCrossGenException(string message, Exception e)
+    {
+        Console.ForegroundColor = ConsoleColor.Red;
+        Console.WriteLine(message);
+        Console.ResetColor();
+        Console.WriteLine(e);
+    }
+
+    private string GetCacheKey()
+    {
+        using var stream = File.OpenRead(Path.Join(gameDirectoryPath, CacheKeyFileName));
+        return Convert.ToHexStringLower(SHA256.HashData(stream));
+    }
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/CringeBootstrap/GameDirectoryAssemblyLoadContext.cs b/CringeBootstrap/GameDirectoryAssemblyLoadContext.cs
index 32d245b..93ca2d9 100644
--- a/CringeBootstrap/GameDirectoryAssemblyLoadContext.cs
+++ b/CringeBootstrap/GameDirectoryAssemblyLoadContext.cs
@@ -9,14 +9,17 @@ namespace CringeBootstrap;
 public class GameDirectoryAssemblyLoadContext : AssemblyLoadContext, ICoreLoadContext
 {
     private readonly string _dir;
+    private readonly string _unmanagedAssembliesDir;
+
     private static readonly ImmutableHashSet<string> ReferenceAssemblies = ["netstandard"];
     // Assembly simple names are case-insensitive per the runtime behavior
     // (see SimpleNameToFileNameMapTraits for the TPA lookup hash).
     private readonly Dictionary<string, string> _assemblyNames = new(StringComparer.OrdinalIgnoreCase);
 
-    public GameDirectoryAssemblyLoadContext(string dir) : base("CringeBootstrap")
+    public GameDirectoryAssemblyLoadContext(string dir, string unmanagedAssembliesDir) : base("CringeBootstrap")
     {
         _dir = dir;
+        _unmanagedAssembliesDir = unmanagedAssembliesDir;
         var files = Directory.GetFiles(dir, "*.dll");
         foreach (var file in files)
         {
@@ -73,7 +76,8 @@ public class GameDirectoryAssemblyLoadContext : AssemblyLoadContext, ICoreLoadCo
             return base.LoadUnmanagedDll(unmanagedDllName);
 
         // prefer System32 over ours
-        ReadOnlySpan<string> dirs = [Environment.SystemDirectory, _dir];
+        // avoid using _dir because it may be a crossgen directory without unmanaged assemblies
+        ReadOnlySpan<string> dirs = [Environment.SystemDirectory, _unmanagedAssembliesDir];
         foreach (var dir in dirs)
         {
             var path = Path.Join(dir, unmanagedDllName);
diff --git a/CringeBootstrap/Program.cs b/CringeBootstrap/Program.cs
index c3fabbe..124649b 100644
--- a/CringeBootstrap/Program.cs
+++ b/CringeBootstrap/Program.cs
@@ -1,9 +1,9 @@
 using System.Diagnostics;
-using System.Reflection;
 using System.Reflection.Metadata;
 using System.Runtime.Loader;
 using CringeBootstrap;
 using CringeBootstrap.Abstractions;
+using CringeBootstrap.CrossGen;
 using Velopack;
 
 #if DEBUG
@@ -41,15 +41,45 @@ AssemblyLoadContext.Default.Resolving += (loadContext, name) =>
 #endif
 
 var dir = Path.GetDirectoryName(args[0])!;
-var context = new GameDirectoryAssemblyLoadContext(dir);
+var gameDir = dir;
+
+var customEntrypoint = Environment.GetEnvironmentVariable("DOTNET_BOOTSTRAP_ENTRYPOINT");
+
+if (
+#if !DEBUG // disable crossgen for plugins userdev, but leave for debug
+    customEntrypoint is null &&
+#endif 
+    !args.Contains("--skip-crossgen", StringComparer.OrdinalIgnoreCase))
+{
+    var cacheDir = Directory.CreateDirectory(Path.Join(
+        Environment.GetFolderPath(Environment.SpecialFolder.ApplicationData),
+        "CringeLauncher", "cache"));
+    
+    var crossGenService = new CrossGenService(gameDir, cacheDir.FullName);
+
+    try
+    {
+        dir = crossGenService.RunCrossGen();
+    }
+    catch (Exception e)
+    {
+        Console.ForegroundColor = ConsoleColor.Red;
+        Console.WriteLine("Crossgen encountered a fatal error and will be skipped for this session.");
+        Console.ResetColor();
+        Console.WriteLine(e);
+        
+        crossGenService.CleanCache();
+    }
+}
+
+var context = new GameDirectoryAssemblyLoadContext(dir, gameDir);
 
 // a list of assemblies which are not in the game binaries but reference them
 context.AddDependencyOverride("CringeLauncher");
 context.AddDependencyOverride("CringePlugins");
 context.AddDependencyOverride("EOSSDK");
 
-var entrypoint = Environment.GetEnvironmentVariable("DOTNET_BOOTSTRAP_ENTRYPOINT") ??
-                                           "CringeLauncher.Launcher, CringeLauncher";
+var entrypoint = customEntrypoint ?? "CringeLauncher.Launcher, CringeLauncher";
 if (!TypeName.TryParse(entrypoint, out var entrypointName) || 
     entrypointName.AssemblyName is null)
 {