diff --git a/UI/GameBrowser.cpp b/UI/GameBrowser.cpp
index ef9be81dfb..6aea95b5d3 100644
--- a/UI/GameBrowser.cpp
+++ b/UI/GameBrowser.cpp
@@ -473,7 +473,8 @@ void GameButton::Draw(UIContext &dc) {
 }
 
 std::string GameButton::DescribeText() const {
-	std::shared_ptr<GameInfo> ginfo = g_gameInfoCache->GetInfo(nullptr, gamePath_, GameInfoFlags::PARAM_SFO);
+	// LOW: search calls this for every game in the list, which mustn't hold up the visible ones.
+	std::shared_ptr<GameInfo> ginfo = g_gameInfoCache->GetInfo(nullptr, gamePath_, GameInfoFlags::PARAM_SFO, nullptr, GameInfoFlags::EMPTY, TaskPriority::LOW);
 	if (!ginfo->Ready(GameInfoFlags::PARAM_SFO))
 		return "...";
 	auto u = GetI18NCategory(I18NCat::UI_ELEMENTS);
diff --git a/UI/GameInfoCache.cpp b/UI/GameInfoCache.cpp
index 20fa67ae97..0cde31802f 100644
--- a/UI/GameInfoCache.cpp
+++ b/UI/GameInfoCache.cpp
@@ -541,8 +541,8 @@ static bool LoadReplacementImage(GameInfo *info, GameInfoTex *tex, const char *f
 
 class GameInfoWorkItem : public Task {
 public:
-	GameInfoWorkItem(const Path &gamePath, std::shared_ptr<GameInfo> &info, GameInfoFlags flags)
-		: gamePath_(gamePath), info_(info), flags_(flags) {}
+	GameInfoWorkItem(const Path &gamePath, std::shared_ptr<GameInfo> &info, GameInfoFlags flags, TaskPriority priority)
+		: gamePath_(gamePath), info_(info), flags_(flags), priority_(priority) {}
 
 	~GameInfoWorkItem() {
 		info_->DisposeFileLoader();
@@ -553,10 +553,14 @@ public:
 	}
 
 	TaskPriority Priority() const override {
+		if (priority_ == TaskPriority::HIGH) {
+			// Someone's waiting on this, wherever it is.
+			return TaskPriority::HIGH;
+		}
 		switch (gamePath_.Type()) {
 		case PathType::NATIVE:
 		case PathType::CONTENT_URI:
-			return TaskPriority::NORMAL;
+			return priority_;
 
 		default:
 			// Remote/network access.
@@ -997,6 +1001,7 @@ private:
 	Path gamePath_;
 	std::shared_ptr<GameInfo> info_;
 	GameInfoFlags flags_{};
+	TaskPriority priority_;
 
 	DISALLOW_COPY_AND_ASSIGN(GameInfoWorkItem);
 };
@@ -1110,7 +1115,7 @@ void GameInfoCache::PurgeType(IdentifiedFileType fileType) {
 
 // Call on the main thread ONLY - that is from stuff called from NativeFrame.
 // Can also be called from the audio thread for menu background music, but that cannot request images!
-std::shared_ptr<GameInfo> GameInfoCache::GetInfo(Draw::DrawContext *draw, const Path &gamePath, GameInfoFlags wantFlags, GameInfoFlags *outHasFlags, GameInfoFlags refetchFlags) {
+std::shared_ptr<GameInfo> GameInfoCache::GetInfo(Draw::DrawContext *draw, const Path &gamePath, GameInfoFlags wantFlags, GameInfoFlags *outHasFlags, GameInfoFlags refetchFlags, TaskPriority priority) {
 	const std::string &pathStr = gamePath.ToString();
 
 	// _dbg_assert_(gamePath != GetSysDirectory(DIRECTORY_SAVEDATA));
@@ -1139,6 +1144,11 @@ std::shared_ptr<GameInfo> GameInfoCache::GetInfo(Draw::DrawContext *draw, const
 				info->hasFlags &= ~refetchFlags;
 			}
 			GameInfoFlags willHaveFlags = info->hasFlags | info->pendingFlags;  // We don't want to re-fetch data that we have, so or in pendingFlags.
+			if (priority == TaskPriority::HIGH) {
+				// A pending load may be sitting at the back of the queue (a search over a big list
+				// queues one per game), and the caller is about to block. Fetch it ourselves.
+				willHaveFlags = info->hasFlags;
+			}
 			wanted = (GameInfoFlags)((int)wantFlags & ~(int)willHaveFlags);  // & is reserved for testing so we have to cast to int. ugh.
 			// FILE_TYPE is special: every work item switches on info->fileType, so it's not enough that
 			// some *pending* item is going to compute it - that item may not have got there yet, and we'd
@@ -1154,7 +1164,7 @@ std::shared_ptr<GameInfo> GameInfoCache::GetInfo(Draw::DrawContext *draw, const
 
 		if (wanted != (GameInfoFlags)0) {
 			// We're missing info that we want. Go get it!
-			GameInfoWorkItem *item = new GameInfoWorkItem(gamePath, info, wanted);
+			GameInfoWorkItem *item = new GameInfoWorkItem(gamePath, info, wanted, priority);
 			g_threadManager.EnqueueTask(item);
 		}
 		return info;
@@ -1170,7 +1180,7 @@ std::shared_ptr<GameInfo> GameInfoCache::GetInfo(Draw::DrawContext *draw, const
 	mapLock_.unlock();
 
 	// Just get all the stuff we wanted.
-	GameInfoWorkItem *item = new GameInfoWorkItem(gamePath, info, wantFlags);
+	GameInfoWorkItem *item = new GameInfoWorkItem(gamePath, info, wantFlags, priority);
 	g_threadManager.EnqueueTask(item);
 	return info;
 }
diff --git a/UI/GameInfoCache.h b/UI/GameInfoCache.h
index 50e4dde834..335dee8ea6 100644
--- a/UI/GameInfoCache.h
+++ b/UI/GameInfoCache.h
@@ -25,6 +25,7 @@
 #include <condition_variable>
 
 #include "Common/Thread/Event.h"
+#include "Common/Thread/ThreadManager.h"
 #include "Core/ELF/ParamSFO.h"
 #include "Core/Util/PSARUnpack.h"
 #include "Common/File/Path.h"
@@ -227,7 +228,11 @@ public:
 	// because they're big. bgTextures and sound may be discarded over time as well.
 	// NOTE: This never returns null, so you don't need to check for that. Do check Ready() flags though.
 	// It's OK to pass in nullptr for draw if you don't need the actual texture right now.
-	std::shared_ptr<GameInfo> GetInfo(Draw::DrawContext *draw, const Path &gamePath, GameInfoFlags wantFlags, GameInfoFlags *outHasFlags = nullptr, GameInfoFlags refetchFlags = GameInfoFlags::EMPTY);
+	// priority orders the background loads: NORMAL for what's on screen, LOW for speculative work like
+	// search. HIGH is for a one-off request you're about to block on: it doesn't wait behind a
+	// lower-priority load that's already queued for the same data, it queues its own - so don't use it
+	// every frame.
+	std::shared_ptr<GameInfo> GetInfo(Draw::DrawContext *draw, const Path &gamePath, GameInfoFlags wantFlags, GameInfoFlags *outHasFlags = nullptr, GameInfoFlags refetchFlags = GameInfoFlags::EMPTY, TaskPriority priority = TaskPriority::NORMAL);
 	void FlushBGs();  // Gets rid of all BG textures. Also gets rid of bg sounds.
 
 	void CancelAll();
diff --git a/UI/MainScreen.cpp b/UI/MainScreen.cpp
index cf84b31024..6d32ca3a8a 100644
--- a/UI/MainScreen.cpp
+++ b/UI/MainScreen.cpp
@@ -72,9 +72,10 @@ static void LaunchFile(ScreenManager *screenManager, Screen *currentScreen, cons
 		// Check if we already know that this game isn't playable.
 		// If coming from the main screen, the info will already be computed here since the icon is displayed etc.
 		// Otherwise (launching from a file association, a shortcut, drag-and-drop...) we have to block until
-		// it's available - we can't decide what to do below without it.
+		// it's available - we can't decide what to do below without it. HIGH, so we don't wait behind
+		// whatever else is queued, like a search's loads for every game in a big list.
 		const GameInfoFlags neededFlags = GameInfoFlags::FILE_TYPE | GameInfoFlags::PARAM_SFO;
-		std::shared_ptr<GameInfo> info = g_gameInfoCache->GetInfo(nullptr, path, neededFlags);
+		std::shared_ptr<GameInfo> info = g_gameInfoCache->GetInfo(nullptr, path, neededFlags, nullptr, GameInfoFlags::EMPTY, TaskPriority::HIGH);
 		info->WaitUntilReady(neededFlags);
 
 		switch (info->fileType) {