diff --git a/Launcher.py b/Launcher.py
index f04d67a5aa0d..0b8be232170d 100644
--- a/Launcher.py
+++ b/Launcher.py
@@ -246,9 +246,8 @@ def launch(exe, in_terminal=False):
 
 
 def run_gui():
-    from kvui import App, ContainerLayout, GridLayout, Button, Label, ScrollBox, Widget
+    from kvui import App, ContainerLayout, GridLayout, Button, Label, ScrollBox, Widget, ApAsyncImage
     from kivy.core.window import Window
-    from kivy.uix.image import AsyncImage
     from kivy.uix.relativelayout import RelativeLayout
 
     class Launcher(App):
@@ -281,8 +280,8 @@ def build_button(component: Component) -> Widget:
                 button.component = component
                 button.bind(on_release=self.component_action)
                 if component.icon != "icon":
-                    image = AsyncImage(source=icon_paths[component.icon],
-                                       size=(38, 38), size_hint=(None, 1), pos=(5, 0))
+                    image = ApAsyncImage(source=icon_paths[component.icon],
+                                         size=(38, 38), size_hint=(None, 1), pos=(5, 0))
                     box_layout = RelativeLayout(size_hint_y=None, height=40)
                     box_layout.add_widget(button)
                     box_layout.add_widget(image)
diff --git a/kvui.py b/kvui.py
index dfe935930049..d98fc7ed9ab8 100644
--- a/kvui.py
+++ b/kvui.py
@@ -3,6 +3,8 @@
 import sys
 import typing
 import re
+import io
+import pkgutil
 from collections import deque
 
 assert "kivy" not in sys.modules, "kvui should be imported before kivy for frozen compatibility"
@@ -34,6 +36,7 @@
 from kivy.core.window import Window
 from kivy.core.clipboard import Clipboard
 from kivy.core.text.markup import MarkupLabel
+from kivy.core.image import ImageLoader, ImageLoaderBase, ImageData
 from kivy.base import ExceptionHandler, ExceptionManager
 from kivy.clock import Clock
 from kivy.factory import Factory
@@ -61,6 +64,7 @@
 from kivy.uix.recycleview.layout import LayoutSelectionBehavior
 from kivy.animation import Animation
 from kivy.uix.popup import Popup
+from kivy.uix.image import AsyncImage
 
 fade_in_animation = Animation(opacity=0, duration=0) + Animation(opacity=1, duration=0.25)
 
@@ -838,6 +842,40 @@ def fix_heights(self):
             element.height = max_height
 
 
+class ApAsyncImage(AsyncImage):
+    def is_uri(self, filename: str) -> bool:
+        if filename.startswith("ap:"):
+            return True
+        else:
+            return super().is_uri(filename)
+
+
+class ImageLoaderPkgutil(ImageLoaderBase):
+    def load(self, filename: str) -> typing.List[ImageData]:
+        # take off the "ap:" prefix
+        module, path = filename[3:].split("/", 1)
+        data = pkgutil.get_data(module, path)
+        return self._bytes_to_data(data)
+
+    def _bytes_to_data(self, data: typing.Union[bytes, bytearray]) -> typing.List[ImageData]:
+        loader = next(loader for loader in ImageLoader.loaders if loader.can_load_memory())
+        return loader.load(loader, io.BytesIO(data))
+
+
+# grab the default loader method so we can override it but use it as a fallback
+_original_image_loader_load = ImageLoader.load
+
+
+def load_override(filename: str, default_load=_original_image_loader_load, **kwargs):
+    if filename.startswith("ap:"):
+        return ImageLoaderPkgutil(filename)
+    else:
+        return default_load(filename, **kwargs)
+
+
+ImageLoader.load = load_override
+
+
 class E(ExceptionHandler):
     logger = logging.getLogger("Client")
 
diff --git a/worlds/LauncherComponents.py b/worlds/LauncherComponents.py
index 67806a7394c7..7f178f1739fc 100644
--- a/worlds/LauncherComponents.py
+++ b/worlds/LauncherComponents.py
@@ -207,6 +207,7 @@ def install_apworld(apworld_path: str = "") -> None:
 ]
 
 
+# if registering an icon from within an apworld, the format "ap:module.name/path/to/file.png" can be used
 icon_paths = {
     'icon': local_path('data', 'icon.png'),
     'mcicon': local_path('data', 'mcicon.png'),