diff --git a/packages/playground/common/src/index.ts b/packages/playground/common/src/index.ts
index 8dcd02bc66..ad95b489e9 100644
--- a/packages/playground/common/src/index.ts
+++ b/packages/playground/common/src/index.ts
@@ -21,7 +21,8 @@ const tmpPath = '/tmp/file.zip';
 export const unzipFile = async (
 	php: UniversalPHP,
 	zipPath: string | File,
-	extractToPath: string
+	extractToPath: string,
+	overwriteFiles = true
 ) => {
 	if (zipPath instanceof File) {
 		const zipFile = zipPath;
@@ -34,10 +35,11 @@ export const unzipFile = async (
 	const js = phpVars({
 		zipPath,
 		extractToPath,
+		overwriteFiles,
 	});
 	await php.run({
 		code: `<?php
-        function unzip($zipPath, $extractTo, $overwrite = true)
+        function unzip($zipPath, $extractTo, $overwriteFiles = true)
         {
             if (!is_dir($extractTo)) {
                 mkdir($extractTo, 0777, true);
@@ -45,14 +47,23 @@ export const unzipFile = async (
             $zip = new ZipArchive;
             $res = $zip->open($zipPath);
             if ($res === TRUE) {
-                $zip->extractTo($extractTo);
-                $zip->close();
-                chmod($extractTo, 0777);
+				for ($i = 0; $i < $zip->numFiles; $i++) {
+					$filename = $zip->getNameIndex($i);
+					$fileinfo = pathinfo($filename);
+					$extractFilePath = rtrim($extractTo, '/') . '/' . $filename;
+					// Check if file exists and $overwriteFiles is false
+					if (!file_exists($extractFilePath) || $overwriteFiles) {
+						// Extract file
+						$zip->extractTo($extractTo, $filename);
+					}
+				}
+				$zip->close();
+				chmod($extractTo, 0777);
             } else {
                 throw new Exception("Could not unzip file");
             }
         }
-        unzip(${js.zipPath}, ${js.extractToPath});
+        unzip(${js.zipPath}, ${js.extractToPath}, ${js.overwriteFiles});
         `,
 	});
 	if (await php.fileExists(tmpPath)) {
diff --git a/packages/playground/remote/src/lib/boot-playground-remote.ts b/packages/playground/remote/src/lib/boot-playground-remote.ts
index 7925957644..db3a82cc52 100644
--- a/packages/playground/remote/src/lib/boot-playground-remote.ts
+++ b/packages/playground/remote/src/lib/boot-playground-remote.ts
@@ -205,6 +205,13 @@ export async function bootPlaygroundRemote() {
 		) {
 			return await phpApi.bindOpfs(options, onProgress);
 		},
+
+		/**
+		 * Download WordPress assets.
+		 */
+		async backfillStaticFilesRemovedFromMinifiedBuild() {
+			await webApi.backfillStaticFilesRemovedFromMinifiedBuild();
+		},
 	};
 
 	await phpApi.isConnected();
@@ -236,6 +243,33 @@ export async function bootPlaygroundRemote() {
 		throw e;
 	}
 
+	/**
+	 * When WordPress is loaded from a minified bundle, some assets are removed to reduce the bundle size.
+	 * This function backfills the missing assets. If WordPress is loaded from a non-minified bundle,
+	 * we don't need to backfill because the assets are already included.
+	 *
+	 * If the browser is online we download the WordPress assets asynchronously to speed up the boot process.
+	 * Missing assets will be fetched on demand from the Playground server until they are downloaded.
+	 *
+	 * If the browser is offline, we await the backfill or WordPress assets
+	 * from cache to ensure Playground is fully functional before boot finishes.
+	 */
+	if (window.navigator.onLine) {
+		wpFrame.addEventListener('load', () => {
+			webApi.backfillStaticFilesRemovedFromMinifiedBuild();
+		});
+	} else {
+		// Note this will run even if the static files are already in place, e.g. when running
+		// a non-minified build or an offline site. It doesn't seem like a big problem worth introducing
+		// a new API method like `webApi.needsBackfillingStaticFilesRemovedFromMinifiedBuild().
+		webApi.setProgress({
+			caption: 'Downloading WordPress assets',
+			isIndefinite: false,
+			visible: true,
+		});
+		await webApi.backfillStaticFilesRemovedFromMinifiedBuild();
+	}
+
 	/*
 	 * An assertion to make sure Playground Client is compatible
 	 * with Remote<PlaygroundClient>
@@ -299,7 +333,8 @@ function assertNotInfiniteLoadingLoop() {
 	}
 	if (isBrowserInABrowser) {
 		throw new Error(
-			'The service worker did not load correctly. This is a bug, please report it on https://github.com/WordPress/wordpress-playground/issues'
+			`The service worker did not load correctly. This is a bug,
+			please report it on https://github.com/WordPress/wordpress-playground/issues`
 		);
 	}
 	(window as any).IS_WASM_WORDPRESS = true;
diff --git a/packages/playground/remote/src/lib/playground-client.ts b/packages/playground/remote/src/lib/playground-client.ts
index eeb23f1bf1..dede3f2eca 100644
--- a/packages/playground/remote/src/lib/playground-client.ts
+++ b/packages/playground/remote/src/lib/playground-client.ts
@@ -52,6 +52,7 @@ export interface WebClientMixin extends ProgressReceiver {
 	replayFSJournal: PlaygroundWorkerEndpoint['replayFSJournal'];
 	addEventListener: PlaygroundWorkerEndpoint['addEventListener'];
 	removeEventListener: PlaygroundWorkerEndpoint['removeEventListener'];
+	backfillStaticFilesRemovedFromMinifiedBuild: PlaygroundWorkerEndpoint['backfillStaticFilesRemovedFromMinifiedBuild'];
 
 	/** @inheritDoc @php-wasm/universal!UniversalPHP.onMessage */
 	onMessage: PlaygroundWorkerEndpoint['onMessage'];
diff --git a/packages/playground/remote/src/lib/worker-thread.ts b/packages/playground/remote/src/lib/worker-thread.ts
index e8b30d2f15..885b2c229d 100644
--- a/packages/playground/remote/src/lib/worker-thread.ts
+++ b/packages/playground/remote/src/lib/worker-thread.ts
@@ -37,13 +37,14 @@ import transportFetch from './playground-mu-plugin/playground-includes/wp_http_f
 import transportDummy from './playground-mu-plugin/playground-includes/wp_http_dummy.php?raw';
 /** @ts-ignore */
 import playgroundWebMuPlugin from './playground-mu-plugin/0-playground.php?raw';
-import { PHPWorker } from '@php-wasm/universal';
+import { PHP, PHPWorker } from '@php-wasm/universal';
 import {
 	bootWordPress,
 	getLoadedWordPressVersion,
 } from '@wp-playground/wordpress';
 import { wpVersionToStaticAssetsDirectory } from '@wp-playground/wordpress-builds';
 import { logger } from '@php-wasm/logger';
+import { unzipFile } from '@wp-playground/common';
 
 /**
  * Startup options are received from spawnPHPWorkerThread using a message event.
@@ -194,6 +195,113 @@ export class PlaygroundWorkerEndpoint extends PHPWorker {
 	async replayFSJournal(events: FilesystemOperation[]) {
 		return replayFSJournal(this.__internal_getPHP()!, events);
 	}
+
+	async backfillStaticFilesRemovedFromMinifiedBuild() {
+		await backfillStaticFilesRemovedFromMinifiedBuild(
+			this.__internal_getPHP()!
+		);
+	}
+}
+
+/**
+ * Downloads and unzips a ZIP bundle of all the static assets removed from
+ * the currently loaded minified WordPress build. Doesn't do anything if the
+ * assets are already downloaded or if a non-minified WordPress build is loaded.
+ *
+ * ## Asset Loading
+ *
+ * To load Playground faster, we default to minified WordPress builds shipped
+ * without most CSS files, JS files, and other static assets.
+ *
+ * When Playground requests a static asset that is not in the minified build, the service
+ * worker consults the list of the assets removed during the minification process. Such
+ * a list is shipped with every minified build in a file called `wordpress-remote-asset-paths`.
+ *
+ * For example, when `/wp-includes/css/dist/block-library/common.min.css` isn't found
+ * in the Playground filesystem, the service worker looks for it in `/wordpress/wordpress-remote-asset-paths`
+ * and finds it there. This means it's available on the remote server, so the service
+ * worker fetches it from an URL like:
+ *
+ * https://playground.wordpress.net/wp-6.5/wp-includes/css/dist/block-library/common.min.css
+ *
+ * ## Assets backfilling
+ *
+ * Running Playground offline isn't possible without shipping all the static assets into the browser.
+ * Downloading every CSS and JS file one request at a time would be slow to run and tedious to maintain.
+ * This is where this function comes in!
+ *
+ * It downloads a zip archive containing all the static files removed from the currently running
+ * minified build, and unzips them in the Playground filesystem. Once it finishes, the WordPress
+ * installation running in the browser is complete and the service worker will no longer have
+ * to backfill any static assets again.
+ *
+ * This process is started after the Playground boots (see `bootPlaygroundRemote`) and the first
+ * page is rendered. This way we're not delaying the initial Playground paint with a large download.
+ *
+ * ## Prevent backfilling if assets are already available
+ *
+ * Running this function twice, or running it on a non-minified build will have no effect.
+ *
+ * The backfilling only runs when a non-empty `wordpress-remote-asset-paths` file
+ * exists. When one is missing, we're not running a minified build. When one is empty,
+ * it means the backfilling process was already done – this function empties the file
+ * after the backfilling is done.
+ *
+ * ### Downloading assets during backfill
+ *
+ * Each WordPress release has a corresponding static assets directory on the Playground.WordPress.net server.
+ * The file is downloaded from the server and unzipped into the WordPress document root.
+ *
+ * ### Skipping existing files during unzipping
+ *
+ * If any of the files already exist, they are skipped and not overwritten.
+ * By skipping existing files, we ensure that the backfill process doesn't overwrite any user changes.
+ */
+async function backfillStaticFilesRemovedFromMinifiedBuild(php: PHP) {
+	if (!php.requestHandler) {
+		logger.warn('No PHP request handler available');
+		return;
+	}
+
+	try {
+		const remoteAssetListPath = joinPaths(
+			php.requestHandler.documentRoot,
+			'wordpress-remote-asset-paths'
+		);
+
+		if (
+			!php.fileExists(remoteAssetListPath) ||
+			(await php.readFileAsText(remoteAssetListPath)) === ''
+		) {
+			return;
+		}
+		const wpVersion = await getLoadedWordPressVersion(php.requestHandler);
+		const staticAssetsDirectory =
+			wpVersionToStaticAssetsDirectory(wpVersion);
+		if (!staticAssetsDirectory) {
+			return;
+		}
+		const response = await fetch(
+			joinPaths('/', staticAssetsDirectory, 'wordpress-static.zip')
+		);
+
+		if (!response.ok) {
+			throw new Error(
+				`Failed to fetch WordPress static assets: ${response.status} ${response.statusText}`
+			);
+		}
+
+		await unzipFile(
+			php,
+			new File([await response.blob()], 'wordpress-static.zip'),
+			php.requestHandler.documentRoot,
+			false
+		);
+		// Clear the remote asset list to indicate that the assets are downloaded.
+		await php.writeFile(remoteAssetListPath, '');
+	} catch (e) {
+		logger.warn('Failed to download WordPress assets', e);
+	}
 }
 
 const apiEndpoint = new PlaygroundWorkerEndpoint(
diff --git a/packages/playground/wordpress-builds/build/Dockerfile b/packages/playground/wordpress-builds/build/Dockerfile
index fb62d4cc26..9a2e3a9717 100644
--- a/packages/playground/wordpress-builds/build/Dockerfile
+++ b/packages/playground/wordpress-builds/build/Dockerfile
@@ -32,6 +32,7 @@ RUN rm -rf wordpress/wp-content/plugins/akismet
 RUN cp -r wordpress wordpress-static && \
     cd wordpress-static && \
     find ./ -name '*.php' -delete && \
+    find ./ -name '*.sqlite' -delete && \
     # Keep only the static files inside the directories like wp-admin or wp-content:
     find . -maxdepth 1 -type f -delete && \
     # Remove all empty directories
@@ -44,11 +45,19 @@ RUN rm -rf wordpress-static/wp-content/mu-plugins
 # to request a remote asset or delegate the request for a missing file to PHP.
 RUN find wordpress-static -type f | sed 's#^wordpress-static/##'> wordpress-remote-asset-paths
 
-# Make the remote asset listing available remotely so it can be downloaded 
+# Make the remote asset listing available remotely so it can be downloaded
 # directly in cases where an older minified WordPress build without this file
 # has been saved to browser storage.
 RUN cp wordpress-remote-asset-paths wordpress-static/
 
+# ZIP the static files
+RUN cd wordpress-static/ && \
+    zip -r ../wordpress-static.zip . && \
+    cd ..
+
+# Move ZIP to the public output directory
+RUN cp wordpress-static.zip wordpress-static/
+
 # Move the static files to the final output directory
 RUN mkdir /root/output/$OUT_FILENAME
 RUN mv wordpress-static/* /root/output/$OUT_FILENAME/
@@ -135,6 +144,6 @@ RUN cd wordpress && \
 # Build the final wp.zip file
 RUN mv wordpress /wordpress && \
     cp wordpress-remote-asset-paths /wordpress/ && \
+    cp wordpress-static.zip /wordpress/ && \
     cd /wordpress && \
     zip /root/output/$OUT_FILENAME.zip -r .
-    
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/packages/playground/wordpress-builds/public/wp-6.2/wordpress-static.zip b/packages/playground/wordpress-builds/public/wp-6.2/wordpress-static.zip
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..7aef272335
Binary files /dev/null and b/packages/playground/wordpress-builds/public/wp-6.2/wordpress-static.zip differ
diff --git a/packages/playground/wordpress-builds/public/wp-6.3/wordpress-static.zip b/packages/playground/wordpress-builds/public/wp-6.3/wordpress-static.zip
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..5e359036b6
Binary files /dev/null and b/packages/playground/wordpress-builds/public/wp-6.3/wordpress-static.zip differ
diff --git a/packages/playground/wordpress-builds/public/wp-6.4/wordpress-static.zip b/packages/playground/wordpress-builds/public/wp-6.4/wordpress-static.zip
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..c23c645614
Binary files /dev/null and b/packages/playground/wordpress-builds/public/wp-6.4/wordpress-static.zip differ
diff --git a/packages/playground/wordpress-builds/public/wp-6.5/wordpress-static.zip b/packages/playground/wordpress-builds/public/wp-6.5/wordpress-static.zip
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..d45a763f76
Binary files /dev/null and b/packages/playground/wordpress-builds/public/wp-6.5/wordpress-static.zip differ
diff --git a/packages/playground/wordpress-builds/public/wp-beta/wordpress-static.zip b/packages/playground/wordpress-builds/public/wp-beta/wordpress-static.zip
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..9effb6f39d
Binary files /dev/null and b/packages/playground/wordpress-builds/public/wp-beta/wordpress-static.zip differ
diff --git a/packages/playground/wordpress-builds/public/wp-nightly/wordpress-static.zip b/packages/playground/wordpress-builds/public/wp-nightly/wordpress-static.zip
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..01149593c3
Binary files /dev/null and b/packages/playground/wordpress-builds/public/wp-nightly/wordpress-static.zip differ
diff --git a/packages/playground/wordpress/src/boot.ts b/packages/playground/wordpress/src/boot.ts
index 2299ed431f..089ba32616 100644
--- a/packages/playground/wordpress/src/boot.ts
+++ b/packages/playground/wordpress/src/boot.ts
@@ -219,7 +219,7 @@ async function isWordPressInstalled(php: PHP) {
 	return (
 		(
 			await php.run({
-				code: `<?php 
+				code: `<?php
 	require '${php.documentRoot}/wp-load.php';
 	echo is_blog_installed() ? '1' : '0';
 	`,
diff --git a/packages/playground/wordpress/src/index.ts b/packages/playground/wordpress/src/index.ts
index 1c45217de2..47bfa9ec5a 100644
--- a/packages/playground/wordpress/src/index.ts
+++ b/packages/playground/wordpress/src/index.ts
@@ -2,8 +2,8 @@ import { PHP, UniversalPHP } from '@php-wasm/universal';
 import { joinPaths, phpVar } from '@php-wasm/util';
 import { unzipFile } from '@wp-playground/common';
 export { bootWordPress } from './boot';
-export { getLoadedWordPressVersion } from './version-detect';
 
+export * from './version-detect';
 export * from './rewrite-rules';
 
 /**
@@ -18,7 +18,7 @@ export async function setupPlatformLevelMuPlugins(php: UniversalPHP) {
 	await php.writeFile(
 		'/internal/shared/preload/env.php',
 		`<?php
-    
+
         // Allow adding filters/actions prior to loading WordPress.
         // $function_to_add MUST be a string.
         function playground_add_filter( $tag, $function_to_add, $priority = 10, $accepted_args = 1 ) {
@@ -28,7 +28,7 @@ export async function setupPlatformLevelMuPlugins(php: UniversalPHP) {
         function playground_add_action( $tag, $function_to_add, $priority = 10, $accepted_args = 1 ) {
             playground_add_filter( $tag, $function_to_add, $priority, $accepted_args );
         }
-        
+
         // Load our mu-plugins after customer mu-plugins
         // NOTE: this means our mu-plugins can't use the muplugins_loaded action!
         playground_add_action( 'muplugins_loaded', 'playground_load_mu_plugins', 0 );
@@ -57,7 +57,7 @@ export async function setupPlatformLevelMuPlugins(php: UniversalPHP) {
             }
             return $redirect_url;
         } );
-		
+
         // Needed because gethostbyname( 'wordpress.org' ) returns
         // a private network IP address for some reason.
         add_filter( 'allowed_redirect_hosts', function( $deprecated = '' ) {
@@ -75,7 +75,7 @@ export async function setupPlatformLevelMuPlugins(php: UniversalPHP) {
         if(!file_exists(WP_CONTENT_DIR . '/fonts')) {
             mkdir(WP_CONTENT_DIR . '/fonts');
         }
-		
+
         $log_file = WP_CONTENT_DIR . '/debug.log';
         define('ERROR_LOG_FILE', $log_file);
         ini_set('error_log', $log_file);
@@ -88,7 +88,7 @@ export async function setupPlatformLevelMuPlugins(php: UniversalPHP) {
 	await php.writeFile(
 		'/internal/shared/preload/error-handler.php',
 		`<?php
-		(function() { 
+		(function() {
 			$playground_consts = [];
 			if(file_exists('/internal/shared/consts.json')) {
 				$playground_consts = @json_decode(file_get_contents('/internal/shared/consts.json'), true) ?: [];
@@ -204,7 +204,7 @@ export async function preloadSqliteIntegration(
 
 /**
  * Loads the SQLite integration plugin before WordPress is loaded
- * and without creating a drop-in "db.php" file. 
+ * and without creating a drop-in "db.php" file.
  *
  * Technically, it creates a global $wpdb object whose only two
  * purposes are to:
diff --git a/packages/playground/wordpress/src/version-detect.ts b/packages/playground/wordpress/src/version-detect.ts
index 6be501f6b9..9855093d72 100644
--- a/packages/playground/wordpress/src/version-detect.ts
+++ b/packages/playground/wordpress/src/version-detect.ts
@@ -15,7 +15,6 @@ export async function getLoadedWordPressVersion(
 	if (!versionString) {
 		throw new Error('Unable to read loaded WordPress version.');
 	}
-
 	return versionStringToLoadedWordPressVersion(versionString);
 }