diff --git a/CMakeLists.txt b/CMakeLists.txt
index e91ecf613b..19ebc760d6 100644
--- a/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -292,6 +292,8 @@ if(NOT OPTION_DEDICATED)
     endif()
 endif()
 
+include(CheckAtomic)
+
 if(APPLE)
     link_package(Iconv TARGET Iconv::Iconv)
 
diff --git a/cmake/CheckAtomic.cmake b/cmake/CheckAtomic.cmake
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..52d93f4f5b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/cmake/CheckAtomic.cmake
@@ -0,0 +1,87 @@
+# atomic builtins are required for threading support.
+
+INCLUDE(CheckCXXSourceCompiles)
+INCLUDE(CheckLibraryExists)
+
+# Sometimes linking against libatomic is required for atomic ops, if
+# the platform doesn't support lock-free atomics.
+
+function(check_working_cxx_atomics varname)
+  set(OLD_CMAKE_REQUIRED_FLAGS ${CMAKE_REQUIRED_FLAGS})
+  set(CMAKE_REQUIRED_FLAGS "${CMAKE_REQUIRED_FLAGS} -std=c++17")
+  check_cxx_source_compiles("
+#include <atomic>
+std::atomic<int> x;
+std::atomic<short> y;
+std::atomic<char> z;
+int main() {
+  ++z;
+  ++y;
+  return ++x;
+}
+" ${varname})
+  set(CMAKE_REQUIRED_FLAGS ${OLD_CMAKE_REQUIRED_FLAGS})
+endfunction(check_working_cxx_atomics)
+
+function(check_working_cxx_atomics64 varname)
+  set(OLD_CMAKE_REQUIRED_FLAGS ${CMAKE_REQUIRED_FLAGS})
+  set(CMAKE_REQUIRED_FLAGS "-std=c++17 ${CMAKE_REQUIRED_FLAGS}")
+  check_cxx_source_compiles("
+#include <atomic>
+#include <cstdint>
+std::atomic<uint64_t> x (0);
+int main() {
+  uint64_t i = x.load(std::memory_order_relaxed);
+  (void)i;
+  return 0;
+}
+" ${varname})
+  set(CMAKE_REQUIRED_FLAGS ${OLD_CMAKE_REQUIRED_FLAGS})
+endfunction(check_working_cxx_atomics64)
+
+
+# Check for (non-64-bit) atomic operations.
+if(MSVC)
+  set(HAVE_CXX_ATOMICS_WITHOUT_LIB True)
+else()
+  # First check if atomics work without the library.
+  check_working_cxx_atomics(HAVE_CXX_ATOMICS_WITHOUT_LIB)
+  # If not, check if the library exists, and atomics work with it.
+  if(NOT HAVE_CXX_ATOMICS_WITHOUT_LIB)
+    check_library_exists(atomic __atomic_fetch_add_4 "" HAVE_LIBATOMIC)
+    if(HAVE_LIBATOMIC)
+      list(APPEND CMAKE_REQUIRED_LIBRARIES "atomic")
+      check_working_cxx_atomics(HAVE_CXX_ATOMICS_WITH_LIB)
+      if (NOT HAVE_CXX_ATOMICS_WITH_LIB)
+        message(FATAL_ERROR "Host compiler must support std::atomic!")
+      endif()
+    else()
+      message(FATAL_ERROR "Host compiler appears to require libatomic, but cannot find it.")
+    endif()
+  endif()
+endif()
+
+# Check for 64 bit atomic operations.
+if(MSVC)
+  set(HAVE_CXX_ATOMICS64_WITHOUT_LIB True)
+else()
+  # First check if atomics work without the library.
+  check_working_cxx_atomics64(HAVE_CXX_ATOMICS64_WITHOUT_LIB)
+  # If not, check if the library exists, and atomics work with it.
+  if(NOT HAVE_CXX_ATOMICS64_WITHOUT_LIB)
+    check_library_exists(atomic __atomic_load_8 "" HAVE_CXX_LIBATOMICS64)
+    if(HAVE_CXX_LIBATOMICS64)
+      list(APPEND CMAKE_REQUIRED_LIBRARIES "atomic")
+      check_working_cxx_atomics64(HAVE_CXX_ATOMICS64_WITH_LIB)
+      if (NOT HAVE_CXX_ATOMICS64_WITH_LIB)
+        message(FATAL_ERROR "Host compiler must support 64-bit std::atomic!")
+      endif()
+    else()
+      message(FATAL_ERROR "Host compiler appears to require libatomic for 64-bit operations, but cannot find it.")
+    endif()
+  endif()
+endif()
+
+if(HAVE_CXX_ATOMICS_WITH_LIB OR HAVE_CXX_ATOMICS64_WITH_LIB)
+  target_link_libraries(openttd atomic)
+endif()