diff --git a/examples/tests/texture-free-reload.ts b/examples/tests/texture-free-reload.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..96402c8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/examples/tests/texture-free-reload.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,136 @@
+import type { INode } from '@lightningjs/renderer';
+import type { ExampleSettings } from '../common/ExampleSettings.js';
+import { waitUntilIdle } from '../common/utils.js';
+
+import rockoPng from '../assets/rocko.png';
+
+/**
+ * Regression test: a texture that is freed by the memory manager while its node
+ * is out of the viewport must reload — and re-display — when the node scrolls
+ * back in.
+ *
+ * The bug this guards against: LRU cleanup used to *destroy* textures
+ * (`removeAllListeners` + cache evict) rather than reversibly *free* them. A
+ * node that kept its reference would then reload the texture to `loaded` but
+ * never be re-notified, so it stayed blank. The fix frees reversibly, keeping
+ * the node's subscription intact. See TextureMemoryManager.freeTexture.
+ *
+ * If the bug regresses, step 6 below never completes and the rocko image is
+ * missing from the snapshot.
+ */
+
+const NODE = { x: 100, y: 100, w: 181, h: 218 };
+
+function delay(ms: number): Promise<void> {
+  return new Promise((resolve) => setTimeout(resolve, ms));
+}
+
+/**
+ * Poll `predicate` until it is true or the timeout elapses. `tick` runs each
+ * iteration to drive frames / re-request cleanup.
+ */
+async function waitFor(
+  predicate: () => boolean,
+  timeoutMs: number,
+  tick?: () => void,
+): Promise<boolean> {
+  const start = Date.now();
+  while (predicate() === false) {
+    if (Date.now() - start > timeoutMs) {
+      return false;
+    }
+    if (tick !== undefined) {
+      tick();
+    }
+    await delay(50);
+  }
+  return true;
+}
+
+export async function automation(settings: ExampleSettings) {
+  await test(settings);
+  await waitUntilIdle(settings.renderer);
+  await settings.snapshot();
+}
+
+export default async function test({ renderer, testRoot }: ExampleSettings) {
+  renderer.createTextNode({
+    fontFamily: 'Ubuntu',
+    text: 'Texture free + reload',
+    fontSize: 30,
+    color: 0xffffffff,
+    x: 20,
+    y: 20,
+    parent: testRoot,
+  });
+
+  const node: INode = renderer.createNode({
+    ...NODE,
+    src: rockoPng,
+    parent: testRoot,
+  });
+
+  let loaded = false;
+  let freed = false;
+  node.on('loaded', () => {
+    loaded = true;
+    freed = false;
+  });
+  node.on('freed', () => {
+    freed = true;
+    loaded = false;
+  });
+
+  // 1. Wait for the initial load.
+  if ((await waitFor(() => loaded, 10000)) === false) {
+    console.error('[texture-free-reload] texture never loaded');
+    return false;
+  }
+
+  // 2. Wait out the cleanup startup grace period (2s) so the memory manager is
+  //    allowed to free the texture.
+  await delay(2200);
+
+  // 3. Move the node far out of bounds and let a frame release its texture
+  //    ownership (renderable -> false), which makes it eligible for cleanup.
+  node.x = -5000;
+  node.y = -5000;
+  renderer.rerender();
+  await delay(100);
+
+  // 4. Force an aggressive (full) cleanup until the texture is actually freed.
+  freed = false;
+  const wasFreed = await waitFor(
+    () => freed,
+    5000,
+    () => {
+      renderer.stage.cleanup(true);
+      renderer.rerender();
+    },
+  );
+  if (wasFreed === false) {
+    console.error('[texture-free-reload] texture never freed');
+    return false;
+  }
+
+  // 5. Scroll the node back into view. The still-subscribed node must be
+  //    re-notified when the freed texture reloads.
+  loaded = false;
+  node.x = NODE.x;
+  node.y = NODE.y;
+  renderer.rerender();
+
+  // 6. Wait for the reload to complete. Before the fix this never fired.
+  const reloaded = await waitFor(
+    () => loaded,
+    10000,
+    () => renderer.rerender(),
+  );
+  if (reloaded === false) {
+    console.error('[texture-free-reload] freed texture failed to reload');
+    return false;
+  }
+
+  console.log('[texture-free-reload] freed texture reloaded and re-displayed');
+  return true;
+}
diff --git a/src/core/TextureMemoryManager.test.ts b/src/core/TextureMemoryManager.test.ts
index 5c685bc..bf6cd1c 100644
--- a/src/core/TextureMemoryManager.test.ts
+++ b/src/core/TextureMemoryManager.test.ts
@@ -1,10 +1,10 @@
-import { beforeEach, describe, expect, it, vi } from 'vitest';
+import { describe, expect, it, vi } from 'vitest';
 import {
   TextureMemoryManager,
   type TextureMemoryManagerSettings,
 } from './TextureMemoryManager.js';
 import type { Stage } from './Stage.js';
-import type { Texture } from './textures/Texture.js';
+import { TextureType, type Texture } from './textures/Texture.js';
 
 function makeSettings(
   overrides: Partial<TextureMemoryManagerSettings> = {},
@@ -96,3 +96,52 @@ describe('TextureMemoryManager — out-of-memory event', () => {
     });
   });
 });
+
+// A cleanable image texture: spies on free()/destroy() so we can assert which
+// reclamation path cleanup() takes. memUsed starts at 0 — setTextureMemUse is
+// what registers its size with the manager.
+function cleanableTexture(): Texture & {
+  free: ReturnType<typeof vi.fn>;
+  destroy: ReturnType<typeof vi.fn>;
+} {
+  return {
+    memUsed: 0,
+    state: 'loaded',
+    type: TextureType.image,
+    free: vi.fn(),
+    destroy: vi.fn(),
+    canBeCleanedUp: () => true,
+  } as unknown as Texture & {
+    free: ReturnType<typeof vi.fn>;
+    destroy: ReturnType<typeof vi.fn>;
+  };
+}
+
+describe('TextureMemoryManager — cleanup is reversible', () => {
+  it('frees textures rather than destroying them so they can reload', () => {
+    const { mgr } = makeManager({ criticalThreshold: 200e6 });
+    const texture = cleanableTexture();
+    mgr.setTextureMemUse(texture, 100e6);
+
+    mgr.cleanup(true);
+
+    // Reversible free path — keeps listeners + cache so a node still
+    // referencing the texture reloads (and is re-notified) on viewport
+    // re-entry. The terminal destroy path (removeAllListeners + cache evict)
+    // must NOT be taken.
+    expect(texture.free).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
+    expect(texture.destroy).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+  });
+
+  it('reclaims the freed texture memory', () => {
+    const { mgr } = makeManager({ criticalThreshold: 200e6 });
+    const texture = cleanableTexture();
+    mgr.setTextureMemUse(texture, 100e6);
+    expect(mgr.getMemoryInfo().memUsed).toBe(126e6); // 26e6 baseline + 100e6
+
+    mgr.cleanup(true);
+
+    expect(mgr.getMemoryInfo().memUsed).toBe(26e6); // back to baseline
+    expect(texture.memUsed).toBe(0);
+  });
+});
diff --git a/src/core/TextureMemoryManager.ts b/src/core/TextureMemoryManager.ts
index 10444fc..86c6bab 100644
--- a/src/core/TextureMemoryManager.ts
+++ b/src/core/TextureMemoryManager.ts
@@ -166,6 +166,44 @@ export class TextureMemoryManager {
     return this.criticalThreshold > 0 && this.memUsed > this.criticalThreshold;
   }
 
+  /**
+   * Reversibly free a texture's GPU resources under memory pressure.
+   *
+   * @remarks
+   * Unlike {@link destroyTexture}, this keeps the `Texture` object, its event
+   * listeners, and its cache entry intact. It only releases the GPU-side
+   * resource and transitions the source to the `freed` state. A `CoreNode` that
+   * still references this texture will reload it — and be re-notified via its
+   * `loaded` listener — when it re-enters the viewport (see
+   * `Texture.setRenderableOwner` → `Texture.load`).
+   *
+   * This is the correct path for LRU/idle cleanup: destroying instead would
+   * sever the node's subscription (`removeAllListeners`) and evict the cache
+   * entry, leaving the node stuck on a texture that reloads to `loaded` but is
+   * never displayed.
+   *
+   * `texture.free()` reclaims tracked memory via `setTextureMemUse(0)` when a
+   * ctxTexture exists; the guard below keeps the accounting correct for any
+   * texture that entered `loadedTextures` without one.
+   *
+   * @param texture - The texture to free
+   */
+  freeTexture(texture: Texture) {
+    if (this.debugLogging === true) {
+      console.log(
+        `[TextureMemoryManager] Freeing texture. State: ${texture.state}`,
+      );
+    }
+
+    texture.free();
+
+    if (this.loadedTextures.has(texture) === true) {
+      this.loadedTextures.delete(texture);
+      this.memUsed -= texture.memUsed;
+      texture.memUsed = 0;
+    }
+  }
+
   /**
    * Destroy a texture and remove it from the memory manager
    *
@@ -230,11 +268,12 @@ export class TextureMemoryManager {
 
       // Immediate cleanup if eligible
       if (isCleanableType && texture.canBeCleanedUp() === true) {
-        // Get memory before destroying
+        // Get memory before freeing
         const textureMemory = texture.memUsed;
 
-        // Destroy texture (which will null out the array position)
-        this.destroyTexture(texture);
+        // Reversibly free (keeps listeners + cache) so the texture reloads when
+        // its node re-enters the viewport.
+        this.freeTexture(texture);
         currentMemUsed -= textureMemory;
       }
     }
diff --git a/visual-regression/certified-snapshots/chromium-ci/stress-animation-1.png b/visual-regression/certified-snapshots/chromium-ci/stress-animation-1.png
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index 0000000..34548d5
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diff --git a/visual-regression/certified-snapshots/chromium-ci/texture-free-reload-1.png b/visual-regression/certified-snapshots/chromium-ci/texture-free-reload-1.png
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index 0000000..e4b65a0
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