diff --git a/include/rendering/character_renderer.hpp b/include/rendering/character_renderer.hpp
index e324622e..2c73129a 100644
--- a/include/rendering/character_renderer.hpp
+++ b/include/rendering/character_renderer.hpp
@@ -264,7 +264,8 @@ private:
     std::unordered_map<VkTexture*, bool> textureHasAlphaByPtr_;
     std::unordered_map<VkTexture*, bool> textureColorKeyBlackByPtr_;
     std::unordered_map<std::string, VkTexture*> compositeCache_;  // key → texture for reuse
-    std::unordered_set<std::string> failedTextureCache_;  // negative cache for missing textures
+    std::unordered_set<std::string> failedTextureCache_;  // negative cache for budget exhaustion
+    std::unordered_set<std::string> loggedTextureLoadFails_;  // dedup warning logs
     size_t textureCacheBytes_ = 0;
     uint64_t textureCacheCounter_ = 0;
     size_t textureCacheBudgetBytes_ = 1024ull * 1024 * 1024;
diff --git a/src/rendering/character_renderer.cpp b/src/rendering/character_renderer.cpp
index c9155a16..ad5b0868 100644
--- a/src/rendering/character_renderer.cpp
+++ b/src/rendering/character_renderer.cpp
@@ -526,17 +526,12 @@ VkTexture* CharacterRenderer::loadTexture(const std::string& path) {
         return whiteTexture_.get();
     }
 
-    // Check negative cache to avoid repeated file I/O for textures that don't exist
-    if (failedTextureCache_.count(key)) {
-        return whiteTexture_.get();
-    }
-
     auto blpImage = assetManager->loadTexture(key);
     if (!blpImage.isValid()) {
-        static constexpr size_t kMaxFailedTextureCache = 200000;
-        core::Logger::getInstance().warning("Failed to load texture: ", path);
-        if (failedTextureCache_.size() < kMaxFailedTextureCache) {
-            failedTextureCache_.insert(key);
+        // Return white fallback but don't cache the failure — allow retry
+        // on next character load in case the asset becomes available.
+        if (loggedTextureLoadFails_.insert(key).second) {
+            core::Logger::getInstance().warning("Failed to load texture: ", path);
         }
         return whiteTexture_.get();
     }
diff --git a/src/rendering/m2_renderer.cpp b/src/rendering/m2_renderer.cpp
index 8d189950..f41390f3 100644
--- a/src/rendering/m2_renderer.cpp
+++ b/src/rendering/m2_renderer.cpp
@@ -3342,9 +3342,7 @@ VkTexture* M2Renderer::loadTexture(const std::string& path, uint32_t texFlags) {
         it->second.lastUse = ++textureCacheCounter_;
         return it->second.texture.get();
     }
-    if (failedTextureCache_.count(key)) {
-        return whiteTexture_.get();
-    }
+    // No negative cache check — allow retries for transiently missing textures
 
     auto containsToken = [](const std::string& haystack, const char* token) {
         return haystack.find(token) != std::string::npos;
@@ -3365,10 +3363,8 @@ VkTexture* M2Renderer::loadTexture(const std::string& path, uint32_t texFlags) {
     // Load BLP texture
     pipeline::BLPImage blp = assetManager->loadTexture(key);
     if (!blp.isValid()) {
-        static constexpr size_t kMaxFailedTextureCache = 200000;
-        if (failedTextureCache_.size() < kMaxFailedTextureCache) {
-            failedTextureCache_.insert(key);
-        }
+        // Return white fallback but don't cache the failure — MPQ reads can
+        // fail transiently during streaming; allow retry on next model load.
         if (loggedTextureLoadFails_.insert(key).second) {
             LOG_WARNING("M2: Failed to load texture: ", path);
         }
diff --git a/src/rendering/terrain_renderer.cpp b/src/rendering/terrain_renderer.cpp
index 67770dfd..208ae25b 100644
--- a/src/rendering/terrain_renderer.cpp
+++ b/src/rendering/terrain_renderer.cpp
@@ -442,16 +442,10 @@ VkTexture* TerrainRenderer::loadTexture(const std::string& path) {
         it->second.lastUse = ++textureCacheCounter_;
         return it->second.texture.get();
     }
-    if (failedTextureCache_.count(key)) {
-        return whiteTexture.get();
-    }
-
     pipeline::BLPImage blp = assetManager->loadTexture(key);
     if (!blp.isValid()) {
-        static constexpr size_t kMaxFailedTextureCache = 200000;
-        if (failedTextureCache_.size() < kMaxFailedTextureCache) {
-            failedTextureCache_.insert(key);
-        }
+        // Return white fallback but don't cache the failure — allow retry
+        // on next tile load in case the asset becomes available.
         if (loggedTextureLoadFails_.insert(key).second) {
             LOG_WARNING("Failed to load texture: ", path);
         }