diff --git a/src/spritecache.cpp b/src/spritecache.cpp
index 811d5b5a66..0c5e1748d9 100644
--- a/src/spritecache.cpp
+++ b/src/spritecache.cpp
@@ -147,6 +147,8 @@ static void* ReadSprite(SpriteCache *sc, SpriteID id, bool real_sprite)
 			sc->ptr = BlitterFactoryBase::GetCurrentBlitter()->Encode(&sprite, &AllocSprite);
 			free(sprite.data);
 
+			sc->real_sprite = true;
+
 			return sc->ptr;
 		}
 		/* If the PNG couldn't be loaded, fall back to 8bpp grfs */