diff --git a/Aquaria/Game.cpp b/Aquaria/Game.cpp
index e5d8177..b6ebd20 100644
--- a/Aquaria/Game.cpp
+++ b/Aquaria/Game.cpp
@@ -369,7 +369,7 @@ void Game::fillGrid(const GridFiller& gf)
 
 		int w = 0, h = 0;
 		size_t size = 0;
-		unsigned char *data = gf.texture->getBufferAndSize(&w, &h, &size);
+		const unsigned char *data = gf.texture->getBufferAndSize(&w, &h, &size);
 		if (!data)
 		{
 			debugLog("Failed to get buffer in Game::fillGridFromQuad()");
@@ -419,8 +419,6 @@ void Game::fillGrid(const GridFiller& gf)
 			}
 		}
 
-		free(data);
-
 		if (gf.trim)
 		{
 			std::vector<TileVector> obsCopy;
@@ -1057,7 +1055,7 @@ void Game::generateCollisionMask(Bone *q, float overrideCollideRadius /* = 0 */)
 
 		int w = 0, h = 0;
 		size_t size = 0;
-		unsigned char *data = q->texture->getBufferAndSize(&w, &h, &size);
+		const unsigned char *data = q->texture->getBufferAndSize(&w, &h, &size);
 		if (!data)
 		{
 			debugLog("Failed to get buffer in Game::generateCollisionMask()");
@@ -1107,8 +1105,6 @@ void Game::generateCollisionMask(Bone *q, float overrideCollideRadius /* = 0 */)
 		}
 
 		q->collisionMaskRadius = 512;
-
-		free(data);
 	}
 }
 
diff --git a/BBGE/Texture.cpp b/BBGE/Texture.cpp
index be70df6..6f05c66 100644
--- a/BBGE/Texture.cpp
+++ b/BBGE/Texture.cpp
@@ -51,6 +51,7 @@ Texture::Texture()
 	ow = oh = -1;
 	_mipmap = false;
 	success = false;
+	_pixbuf = NULL;
 }
 
 Texture::~Texture()
@@ -81,6 +82,12 @@ void Texture::writeRGBA(int tx, int ty, int w, int h, const unsigned char *pixel
 					);
 
 	glBindTexture(GL_TEXTURE_2D, 0);
+
+	if(_pixbuf)
+	{
+		free(_pixbuf);
+		_pixbuf = NULL; // will re-fetch when needed
+	}
 }
 
 void Texture::unload()
@@ -93,6 +100,16 @@ void Texture::unload()
 		glDeleteTextures(1, &gltexid);
 		gltexid = 0;
 	}
+	if(_pixbuf)
+	{
+		free(_pixbuf);
+		_pixbuf = NULL;
+	}
+}
+
+size_t Texture::sizeBytes() const
+{
+	return size_t(width) * size_t(height) * 4;
 }
 
 void Texture::apply() const
@@ -209,18 +226,23 @@ bool Texture::upload(const ImageData& img, bool mipmap)
 	return true;
 }
 
-unsigned char * Texture::getBufferAndSize(int *wparam, int *hparam, size_t *sizeparam) const
+const unsigned char * Texture::getBufferAndSize(int *wparam, int *hparam, size_t *sizeparam) const
 {
-	const size_t bytes = size_t(width) * size_t(height) * 4;
-	unsigned char *data = (unsigned char*)malloc(bytes);
-	if (!data)
+	unsigned char *data = _pixbuf;
+	const size_t bytes = sizeBytes();
+	if(!_pixbuf)
 	{
-		std::ostringstream os;
-		os << "Game::getBufferAndSize allocation failure, bytes = " << bytes;
-		errorLog(os.str());
-		return NULL;
+		data = (unsigned char*)malloc(bytes);
+		if (!data)
+		{
+			std::ostringstream os;
+			os << "Game::getBufferAndSize allocation failure, bytes = " << bytes;
+			errorLog(os.str());
+			return NULL;
+		}
+		this->readRGBA(data);
+		_pixbuf = data;
 	}
-	this->readRGBA(data);
 
 	*wparam = width;
 	*hparam = height;
diff --git a/BBGE/Texture.h b/BBGE/Texture.h
index d478db7..1e2348e 100644
--- a/BBGE/Texture.h
+++ b/BBGE/Texture.h
@@ -65,7 +65,8 @@ public:
 	void writeRGBA(int tx, int ty, int w, int h, const unsigned char *pixels);
 	void readRGBA(unsigned char *pixels) const;
 
-	unsigned char *getBufferAndSize(int *w, int *h, size_t *size) const; // returned memory must be free()'d
+	const unsigned char *getBufferAndSize(int *w, int *h, size_t *size) const; // returned memory is owned by the Texture
+	size_t sizeBytes() const;
 
 	std::string name, filename;
 	bool upload(const ImageData& img, bool mipmap);
@@ -76,6 +77,7 @@ protected:
 
 	int ow, oh;
 	bool _mipmap;
+	mutable unsigned char *_pixbuf; // retrieved when needed
 };
 
 #define UNREFTEX(x) {x = NULL;}