diff --git a/CMakeLists.txt b/CMakeLists.txt
index 549c3b80..2472b75e 100644
--- a/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -21,6 +21,8 @@ find_package(GLEW REQUIRED)
 find_package(OpenSSL REQUIRED)
 find_package(Threads REQUIRED)
 find_package(SQLite3 REQUIRED)
+find_package(PkgConfig REQUIRED)
+pkg_check_modules(FFMPEG REQUIRED libavformat libavcodec libswscale libavutil)
 
 # GLM (header-only math library)
 find_package(glm QUIET)
@@ -139,6 +141,7 @@ set(WOWEE_SOURCES
     src/rendering/world_map.cpp
     src/rendering/swim_effects.cpp
     src/rendering/loading_screen.cpp
+    src/rendering/video_player.cpp
 
     # UI
     src/ui/ui_manager.cpp
@@ -226,6 +229,7 @@ set(WOWEE_HEADERS
     include/rendering/character_preview.hpp
     include/rendering/wmo_renderer.hpp
     include/rendering/loading_screen.hpp
+    include/rendering/video_player.hpp
 
     include/ui/ui_manager.hpp
     include/ui/auth_screen.hpp
@@ -245,6 +249,7 @@ target_include_directories(wowee PRIVATE
     ${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/include
     ${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/src
     ${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/extern
+    ${FFMPEG_INCLUDE_DIRS}
 )
 
 # Link libraries
@@ -265,6 +270,11 @@ else()
     target_link_libraries(wowee PRIVATE ${SQLite3_LIBRARIES})
 endif()
 
+target_link_libraries(wowee PRIVATE ${FFMPEG_LIBRARIES})
+if (FFMPEG_LIBRARY_DIRS)
+    target_link_directories(wowee PRIVATE ${FFMPEG_LIBRARY_DIRS})
+endif()
+
 # Platform-specific libraries
 if(WIN32)
     target_link_libraries(wowee PRIVATE ws2_32)
diff --git a/assets/startscreen.mp4 b/assets/startscreen.mp4
new file mode 100755
index 00000000..3faea727
Binary files /dev/null and b/assets/startscreen.mp4 differ
diff --git a/include/rendering/video_player.hpp b/include/rendering/video_player.hpp
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..3d093715
--- /dev/null
+++ b/include/rendering/video_player.hpp
@@ -0,0 +1,51 @@
+#pragma once
+
+#include <string>
+#include <cstdint>
+#include <vector>
+
+typedef unsigned int GLuint;
+
+namespace wowee {
+namespace rendering {
+
+class VideoPlayer {
+public:
+    VideoPlayer();
+    ~VideoPlayer();
+
+    bool open(const std::string& path);
+    void update(float deltaTime);
+    void close();
+
+    bool isReady() const { return textureReady; }
+    GLuint getTextureId() const { return textureId; }
+    int getWidth() const { return width; }
+    int getHeight() const { return height; }
+
+private:
+    bool decodeNextFrame();
+    void uploadFrame();
+
+    void* formatCtx = nullptr;
+    void* codecCtx = nullptr;
+    void* frame = nullptr;
+    void* rgbFrame = nullptr;
+    void* packet = nullptr;
+    void* swsCtx = nullptr;
+
+    int videoStreamIndex = -1;
+    int width = 0;
+    int height = 0;
+    double frameTime = 1.0 / 30.0;
+    double accumulator = 0.0;
+    bool eof = false;
+
+    GLuint textureId = 0;
+    bool textureReady = false;
+    std::string sourcePath;
+    std::vector<uint8_t> rgbBuffer;
+};
+
+} // namespace rendering
+} // namespace wowee
diff --git a/include/ui/auth_screen.hpp b/include/ui/auth_screen.hpp
index 1d94c787..d519a2d6 100644
--- a/include/ui/auth_screen.hpp
+++ b/include/ui/auth_screen.hpp
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 #pragma once
 
 #include "auth/auth_handler.hpp"
+#include "rendering/video_player.hpp"
 #include <string>
 #include <functional>
 
@@ -83,6 +84,10 @@ private:
     void loadLoginInfo();
     static std::string getConfigPath();
     bool loginInfoLoaded = false;
+
+    // Background video
+    bool videoInitAttempted = false;
+    rendering::VideoPlayer backgroundVideo;
 };
 
 }} // namespace wowee::ui
diff --git a/src/rendering/video_player.cpp b/src/rendering/video_player.cpp
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..c11dd799
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/rendering/video_player.cpp
@@ -0,0 +1,253 @@
+#include "rendering/video_player.hpp"
+#include "core/logger.hpp"
+#include <GL/glew.h>
+
+extern "C" {
+#include <libavformat/avformat.h>
+#include <libavcodec/avcodec.h>
+#include <libswscale/swscale.h>
+#include <libavutil/imgutils.h>
+}
+
+namespace wowee {
+namespace rendering {
+
+VideoPlayer::VideoPlayer() = default;
+
+VideoPlayer::~VideoPlayer() {
+    close();
+}
+
+bool VideoPlayer::open(const std::string& path) {
+    if (!path.empty() && sourcePath == path && formatCtx) return true;
+    close();
+
+    sourcePath = path;
+    AVFormatContext* fmt = nullptr;
+    if (avformat_open_input(&fmt, path.c_str(), nullptr, nullptr) != 0) {
+        LOG_WARNING("VideoPlayer: failed to open ", path);
+        return false;
+    }
+    if (avformat_find_stream_info(fmt, nullptr) < 0) {
+        LOG_WARNING("VideoPlayer: failed to read stream info for ", path);
+        avformat_close_input(&fmt);
+        return false;
+    }
+
+    int streamIndex = -1;
+    for (unsigned int i = 0; i < fmt->nb_streams; i++) {
+        if (fmt->streams[i]->codecpar->codec_type == AVMEDIA_TYPE_VIDEO) {
+            streamIndex = static_cast<int>(i);
+            break;
+        }
+    }
+    if (streamIndex < 0) {
+        LOG_WARNING("VideoPlayer: no video stream in ", path);
+        avformat_close_input(&fmt);
+        return false;
+    }
+
+    AVCodecParameters* codecpar = fmt->streams[streamIndex]->codecpar;
+    const AVCodec* codec = avcodec_find_decoder(codecpar->codec_id);
+    if (!codec) {
+        LOG_WARNING("VideoPlayer: unsupported codec for ", path);
+        avformat_close_input(&fmt);
+        return false;
+    }
+
+    AVCodecContext* ctx = avcodec_alloc_context3(codec);
+    if (!ctx) {
+        avformat_close_input(&fmt);
+        return false;
+    }
+    if (avcodec_parameters_to_context(ctx, codecpar) < 0) {
+        avcodec_free_context(&ctx);
+        avformat_close_input(&fmt);
+        return false;
+    }
+    if (avcodec_open2(ctx, codec, nullptr) < 0) {
+        avcodec_free_context(&ctx);
+        avformat_close_input(&fmt);
+        return false;
+    }
+
+    AVFrame* f = av_frame_alloc();
+    AVFrame* rgb = av_frame_alloc();
+    AVPacket* pkt = av_packet_alloc();
+    if (!f || !rgb || !pkt) {
+        if (pkt) av_packet_free(&pkt);
+        if (rgb) av_frame_free(&rgb);
+        if (f) av_frame_free(&f);
+        avcodec_free_context(&ctx);
+        avformat_close_input(&fmt);
+        return false;
+    }
+
+    width = ctx->width;
+    height = ctx->height;
+    if (width <= 0 || height <= 0) {
+        av_packet_free(&pkt);
+        av_frame_free(&rgb);
+        av_frame_free(&f);
+        avcodec_free_context(&ctx);
+        avformat_close_input(&fmt);
+        return false;
+    }
+
+    int bufferSize = av_image_get_buffer_size(AV_PIX_FMT_RGB24, width, height, 1);
+    rgbBuffer.resize(static_cast<size_t>(bufferSize));
+    av_image_fill_arrays(rgb->data, rgb->linesize,
+                         rgbBuffer.data(), AV_PIX_FMT_RGB24, width, height, 1);
+
+    SwsContext* sws = sws_getContext(width, height, ctx->pix_fmt,
+                                     width, height, AV_PIX_FMT_RGB24,
+                                     SWS_BILINEAR, nullptr, nullptr, nullptr);
+    if (!sws) {
+        av_packet_free(&pkt);
+        av_frame_free(&rgb);
+        av_frame_free(&f);
+        avcodec_free_context(&ctx);
+        avformat_close_input(&fmt);
+        return false;
+    }
+
+    AVRational fr = fmt->streams[streamIndex]->avg_frame_rate;
+    if (fr.num <= 0 || fr.den <= 0) {
+        fr = fmt->streams[streamIndex]->r_frame_rate;
+    }
+    double fps = (fr.num > 0 && fr.den > 0) ? static_cast<double>(fr.num) / fr.den : 30.0;
+    if (fps <= 0.0) fps = 30.0;
+    frameTime = 1.0 / fps;
+    accumulator = 0.0;
+    eof = false;
+
+    formatCtx = fmt;
+    codecCtx = ctx;
+    frame = f;
+    rgbFrame = rgb;
+    packet = pkt;
+    swsCtx = sws;
+    videoStreamIndex = streamIndex;
+
+    textureReady = false;
+    return true;
+}
+
+void VideoPlayer::close() {
+    if (textureId) {
+        glDeleteTextures(1, &textureId);
+        textureId = 0;
+    }
+    textureReady = false;
+
+    if (packet) {
+        av_packet_free(reinterpret_cast<AVPacket**>(&packet));
+        packet = nullptr;
+    }
+    if (rgbFrame) {
+        av_frame_free(reinterpret_cast<AVFrame**>(&rgbFrame));
+        rgbFrame = nullptr;
+    }
+    if (frame) {
+        av_frame_free(reinterpret_cast<AVFrame**>(&frame));
+        frame = nullptr;
+    }
+    if (codecCtx) {
+        avcodec_free_context(reinterpret_cast<AVCodecContext**>(&codecCtx));
+        codecCtx = nullptr;
+    }
+    if (formatCtx) {
+        avformat_close_input(reinterpret_cast<AVFormatContext**>(&formatCtx));
+        formatCtx = nullptr;
+    }
+    if (swsCtx) {
+        sws_freeContext(reinterpret_cast<SwsContext*>(swsCtx));
+        swsCtx = nullptr;
+    }
+    videoStreamIndex = -1;
+    width = 0;
+    height = 0;
+    rgbBuffer.clear();
+}
+
+void VideoPlayer::update(float deltaTime) {
+    if (!formatCtx || !codecCtx) return;
+    accumulator += deltaTime;
+    while (accumulator >= frameTime) {
+        if (!decodeNextFrame()) break;
+        accumulator -= frameTime;
+    }
+}
+
+bool VideoPlayer::decodeNextFrame() {
+    AVFormatContext* fmt = reinterpret_cast<AVFormatContext*>(formatCtx);
+    AVCodecContext* ctx = reinterpret_cast<AVCodecContext*>(codecCtx);
+    AVFrame* f = reinterpret_cast<AVFrame*>(frame);
+    AVFrame* rgb = reinterpret_cast<AVFrame*>(rgbFrame);
+    AVPacket* pkt = reinterpret_cast<AVPacket*>(packet);
+    SwsContext* sws = reinterpret_cast<SwsContext*>(swsCtx);
+
+    while (true) {
+        int ret = av_read_frame(fmt, pkt);
+        if (ret < 0) {
+            if (av_seek_frame(fmt, videoStreamIndex, 0, AVSEEK_FLAG_BACKWARD) >= 0) {
+                avcodec_flush_buffers(ctx);
+                continue;
+            }
+            return false;
+        }
+
+        if (pkt->stream_index != videoStreamIndex) {
+            av_packet_unref(pkt);
+            continue;
+        }
+
+        if (avcodec_send_packet(ctx, pkt) < 0) {
+            av_packet_unref(pkt);
+            continue;
+        }
+        av_packet_unref(pkt);
+
+        ret = avcodec_receive_frame(ctx, f);
+        if (ret == AVERROR(EAGAIN) || ret == AVERROR_EOF) {
+            continue;
+        }
+        if (ret < 0) {
+            continue;
+        }
+
+        sws_scale(sws,
+                  f->data, f->linesize,
+                  0, ctx->height,
+                  rgb->data, rgb->linesize);
+
+        uploadFrame();
+        return true;
+    }
+}
+
+void VideoPlayer::uploadFrame() {
+    if (width <= 0 || height <= 0) return;
+    if (!textureId) {
+        glGenTextures(1, &textureId);
+        glBindTexture(GL_TEXTURE_2D, textureId);
+        glTexParameteri(GL_TEXTURE_2D, GL_TEXTURE_MIN_FILTER, GL_LINEAR);
+        glTexParameteri(GL_TEXTURE_2D, GL_TEXTURE_MAG_FILTER, GL_LINEAR);
+        glTexParameteri(GL_TEXTURE_2D, GL_TEXTURE_WRAP_S, GL_CLAMP_TO_EDGE);
+        glTexParameteri(GL_TEXTURE_2D, GL_TEXTURE_WRAP_T, GL_CLAMP_TO_EDGE);
+        glTexImage2D(GL_TEXTURE_2D, 0, GL_RGB, width, height, 0,
+                     GL_RGB, GL_UNSIGNED_BYTE, rgbBuffer.data());
+        glBindTexture(GL_TEXTURE_2D, 0);
+        textureReady = true;
+        return;
+    }
+
+    glBindTexture(GL_TEXTURE_2D, textureId);
+    glTexSubImage2D(GL_TEXTURE_2D, 0, 0, 0, width, height,
+                    GL_RGB, GL_UNSIGNED_BYTE, rgbBuffer.data());
+    glBindTexture(GL_TEXTURE_2D, 0);
+    textureReady = true;
+}
+
+} // namespace rendering
+} // namespace wowee
diff --git a/src/ui/auth_screen.cpp b/src/ui/auth_screen.cpp
index b619fd92..75ee8d79 100644
--- a/src/ui/auth_screen.cpp
+++ b/src/ui/auth_screen.cpp
@@ -38,6 +38,39 @@ void AuthScreen::render(auth::AuthHandler& authHandler) {
         loginInfoLoaded = true;
     }
 
+    if (!videoInitAttempted) {
+        videoInitAttempted = true;
+        backgroundVideo.open("assets/startscreen.mp4");
+    }
+    backgroundVideo.update(ImGui::GetIO().DeltaTime);
+    if (backgroundVideo.isReady()) {
+        ImVec2 screen = ImGui::GetIO().DisplaySize;
+        float screenW = screen.x;
+        float screenH = screen.y;
+        float videoW = static_cast<float>(backgroundVideo.getWidth());
+        float videoH = static_cast<float>(backgroundVideo.getHeight());
+        if (videoW > 0.0f && videoH > 0.0f) {
+            float screenAspect = screenW / screenH;
+            float videoAspect = videoW / videoH;
+            ImVec2 uv0(0.0f, 0.0f);
+            ImVec2 uv1(1.0f, 1.0f);
+            if (videoAspect > screenAspect) {
+                float scale = screenAspect / videoAspect;
+                float crop = (1.0f - scale) * 0.5f;
+                uv0.x = crop;
+                uv1.x = 1.0f - crop;
+            } else if (videoAspect < screenAspect) {
+                float scale = videoAspect / screenAspect;
+                float crop = (1.0f - scale) * 0.5f;
+                uv0.y = crop;
+                uv1.y = 1.0f - crop;
+            }
+            ImDrawList* bg = ImGui::GetBackgroundDrawList();
+            bg->AddImage(static_cast<ImTextureID>(static_cast<uintptr_t>(backgroundVideo.getTextureId())),
+                         ImVec2(0, 0), ImVec2(screenW, screenH), uv0, uv1);
+        }
+    }
+
     ImGui::SetNextWindowSize(ImVec2(500, 400), ImGuiCond_FirstUseEver);
     ImGui::Begin("WoW 3.3.5a Authentication", nullptr, ImGuiWindowFlags_NoCollapse);