diff --git a/src/pipeline/asset_manager.cpp b/src/pipeline/asset_manager.cpp
index a38583de..504eed71 100644
--- a/src/pipeline/asset_manager.cpp
+++ b/src/pipeline/asset_manager.cpp
@@ -231,16 +231,30 @@ BLPImage AssetManager::tryLoadPngOverride(const std::string& normalizedPath) con
     std::string ext = normalizedPath.substr(normalizedPath.size() - 4);
     if (ext != ".blp") return BLPImage();
 
+    // Try the standard sidecar path first: extracted .blp's directory + .png.
     std::string fsPath = resolveFile(normalizedPath);
-    if (fsPath.empty()) return BLPImage();
-
-    // Replace .blp/.BLP extension with .png
-    if (fsPath.size() < 4) return BLPImage();
-    std::string pngPath = fsPath.substr(0, fsPath.size() - 4) + ".png";
-    if (!LooseFileReader::fileExists(pngPath)) {
-        return BLPImage();
+    std::string pngPath;
+    if (!fsPath.empty() && fsPath.size() >= 4) {
+        pngPath = fsPath.substr(0, fsPath.size() - 4) + ".png";
+        if (!LooseFileReader::fileExists(pngPath)) pngPath.clear();
     }
 
+    // Fallback: probe well-known custom-zone texture roots so that PNG-only
+    // assets ship without needing a phantom BLP manifest entry. Path is
+    // forward-slash + lowercase to match the editor's PNG export convention.
+    if (pngPath.empty()) {
+        std::string norm = normalizedPath;
+        std::replace(norm.begin(), norm.end(), '\\', '/');
+        std::transform(norm.begin(), norm.end(), norm.begin(),
+                       [](unsigned char c) { return std::tolower(c); });
+        std::string candidate = norm.substr(0, norm.size() - 4) + ".png";
+        for (const char* root : {"custom_zones/textures/", "output/textures/"}) {
+            std::string p = std::string(root) + candidate;
+            if (LooseFileReader::fileExists(p)) { pngPath = p; break; }
+        }
+    }
+    if (pngPath.empty()) return BLPImage();
+
     int w, h, channels;
     unsigned char* pixels = stbi_load(pngPath.c_str(), &w, &h, &channels, 4);
     if (!pixels) {