diff --git a/src/newgrf_config.cpp b/src/newgrf_config.cpp
index f6242e4f5d..6610183c2c 100644
--- a/src/newgrf_config.cpp
+++ b/src/newgrf_config.cpp
@@ -575,6 +575,10 @@ compatible_grf:
 	return res;
 }
 
+
+/** Set this flag to prevent any NewGRF scanning from being done. */
+int _skip_all_newgrf_scanning = 0;
+
 /** Helper for scanning for files with GRF as extension */
 class GRFFileScanner : FileScanner {
 	std::chrono::steady_clock::time_point next_update; ///< The next moment we do update the screen.
@@ -591,6 +595,11 @@ public:
 	/** Do the scan for GRFs. */
 	static uint DoScan()
 	{
+		if (_skip_all_newgrf_scanning > 0) {
+			if (_skip_all_newgrf_scanning == 1) _skip_all_newgrf_scanning = 0;
+			return 0;
+		}
+
 		GRFFileScanner fs;
 		int ret = fs.Scan(".grf", NEWGRF_DIR);
 		/* The number scanned and the number returned may not be the same;
diff --git a/src/openttd.cpp b/src/openttd.cpp
index 2e11380d8c..e2cedd5775 100644
--- a/src/openttd.cpp
+++ b/src/openttd.cpp
@@ -201,6 +201,8 @@ static void ShowHelp()
 		"  -x                  = Never save configuration changes to disk\n"
 		"  -X                  = Don't use global folders to search for files\n"
 		"  -q savegame         = Write some information about the savegame and exit\n"
+		"  -Q                  = Don't scan for/load NewGRF files on startup\n"
+		"  -QQ                 = Disable NewGRF scanning/loading entirely\n"
 		"\n",
 		lastof(buf)
 	);
@@ -512,6 +514,7 @@ static const OptionData _options[] = {
 	 GETOPT_SHORT_NOVAL('X'),
 	 GETOPT_SHORT_VALUE('q'),
 	 GETOPT_SHORT_NOVAL('h'),
+	 GETOPT_SHORT_NOVAL('Q'),
 	GETOPT_END()
 };
 
@@ -640,6 +643,11 @@ int openttd_main(int argc, char *argv[])
 			WriteSavegameInfo(title);
 			return ret;
 		}
+		case 'Q': {
+			extern int _skip_all_newgrf_scanning;
+			_skip_all_newgrf_scanning += 1;
+			break;
+		}
 		case 'G': scanner->generation_seed = strtoul(mgo.opt, nullptr, 10); break;
 		case 'c': _config_file = mgo.opt; break;
 		case 'x': scanner->save_config = false; break;