diff --git a/.gitlab-ci.yml b/.gitlab-ci.yml
index cf9926b4da..99b6bf2171 100644
--- a/.gitlab-ci.yml
+++ b/.gitlab-ci.yml
@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@ spec:
       description: 'Pipelines used only for testing'
       options:
         - GIMP_CI_MESON_CLANG #trigger the Debian Clang build (rare usefulness)
+        - GIMP_CI_MESON_MSVC #trigger the Windows MSVC build (rare usefulness)
         - GIMP_CI_RASTER_ICONS #trigger the Debian Clang build without vector icons (rare usefulness)
         - GIMP_CI_CPPCHECK #trigger cppcheck (static code analysis)
         - none
@@ -536,6 +537,7 @@ gimp-snap:
   tags:
     - $RUNNER
   variables:
+    VCPKG_ROOT: "$CI_PROJECT_DIR/vcpkg"
     MSYS_ROOT: 'C:/msys64'
     #meson.build forces non-relocatable .pc. See: https://github.com/mesonbuild/meson/issues/14346
     PKGCONF_RELOCATABLE_OPTION: '-Dpkgconfig.relocatable=true'
@@ -549,17 +551,30 @@ gimp-snap:
 # See: https://testing.developer.gimp.org/core/setup/build/windows/#prepare-for-building
 - Write-Output "$([char]27)[0Ksection_start:$(Get-Date -UFormat %s -Millisecond 0):win_environ[collapsed=true]$([char]13)$([char]27)[0KPreparing build environment"
 ## Build-time vars
-- $env:PKG_CONFIG_PATH = "$GIMP_PREFIX/lib/pkgconfig;$env:MSYS_ROOT/$env:MSYSTEM_PREFIX/lib/pkgconfig;$env:MSYS_ROOT/$env:MSYSTEM_PREFIX/share/pkgconfig"
-- $env:XDG_DATA_DIRS = "$GIMP_PREFIX/share;$env:MSYS_ROOT/$env:MSYSTEM_PREFIX/share"
+- $env:PKG_CONFIG_PATH = "$GIMP_PREFIX/lib/pkgconfig;$env:VCPKG_ROOT/installed/$env:VCPKG_DEFAULT_TRIPLET/lib/pkgconfig;$env:VCPKG_ROOT/installed/$env:VCPKG_DEFAULT_TRIPLET/share/pkgconfig;$env:MSYS_ROOT/$env:MSYSTEM_PREFIX/lib/pkgconfig;$env:MSYS_ROOT/$env:MSYSTEM_PREFIX/share/pkgconfig"
+- $env:XDG_DATA_DIRS = "$GIMP_PREFIX/share;$env:VCPKG_ROOT/installed/$env:VCPKG_DEFAULT_TRIPLET/share;$env:MSYS_ROOT/$env:MSYSTEM_PREFIX/share"
 ## Runtime vars
-- $env:PATH = "$GIMP_PREFIX/bin;$env:MSYS_ROOT/$env:MSYSTEM_PREFIX/bin;$env:PATH"
-- $env:GI_TYPELIB_PATH = "$GIMP_PREFIX/lib/girepository-1.0;$env:MSYS_ROOT/$env:MSYSTEM_PREFIX/lib/girepository-1.0"
+- $env:PATH = "$GIMP_PREFIX/bin;$env:VCPKG_ROOT/installed/$env:VCPKG_DEFAULT_TRIPLET/bin;$env:MSYS_ROOT/$env:MSYSTEM_PREFIX/bin;$env:PATH"
+- $env:GI_TYPELIB_PATH = "$GIMP_PREFIX/lib/girepository-1.0;$env:VCPKG_ROOT/installed/$env:VCPKG_DEFAULT_TRIPLET/lib/girepository-1.0;$env:MSYS_ROOT/$env:MSYSTEM_PREFIX/lib/girepository-1.0"
 - Write-Output "$([char]27)[0Ksection_end:$(Get-Date -UFormat %s -Millisecond 0):win_environ$([char]13)$([char]27)[0K"
 
 deps-win:
   extends: .win
+  rules:
+    - !reference [.win, rules]
+    - if: '$GIMP_CI_MESON_MSVC != null || "$[[ inputs.test_pipeline ]]" =~ /.*GIMP_CI_MESON_MSVC.*/'
+      variables:
+        VARIANT: "-msvc"
   stage: dependencies
+  cache:
+    key: $CI_PROJECT_PATH_SLUG
+    paths:
+      - vcpkg
+  variables:
+    VCPKG_ARCHIVES_DIR: "$CI_PROJECT_DIR/vcpkg/archives"
   script:
+    - if ("$VARIANT" -eq '-msvc') { if (-not (Test-Path $VCPKG_ROOT)) { git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/microsoft/vcpkg; .\vcpkg\bootstrap-vcpkg.bat }; pip install meson }
+    - if ("$VARIANT" -eq '-msvc') { $VSINSTALLDIR = $(vswhere -products * -latest -property installationPath); Import-Module "$VSINSTALLDIR\Common7\Tools\Microsoft.VisualStudio.DevShell.dll"; Enter-VsDevShell -VsInstallPath "$VSINSTALLDIR" -SkipAutomaticLocation -DevCmdArguments "-arch=$(((Get-WmiObject Win32_ComputerSystem).SystemType).Split('-')[0].Trim().ToLower())" }
     - build\windows\1_build-deps-msys2.ps1
   artifacts:
     paths:
diff --git a/build/windows/1_build-deps-msys2.ps1 b/build/windows/1_build-deps-msys2.ps1
index e7156772f1..074f4e6785 100644
--- a/build/windows/1_build-deps-msys2.ps1
+++ b/build/windows/1_build-deps-msys2.ps1
@@ -21,7 +21,21 @@ if (-not $GITLAB_CI)
 
 
 # Install the required (pre-built) packages for babl, GEGL and GIMP
-if (-not $env:MSYS_ROOT)
+if (-not $env:VCPKG_ROOT -or (Test-Path "$env:VCPKG_ROOT\vcpkg.exe" -Type Leaf))
+  {
+    $env:VCPKG_ROOT = $(Resolve-Path "${PWD}${PARENT_DIR}\vcpkg" -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue)
+    if ((Test-Path "$env:VCPKG_ROOT\vcpkg.exe" -Type Leaf) -and -not "$env:VSINSTALLDIR")
+      {
+        Write-Host '(ERROR): MSVC installation not found. Please, install it then run this script from Developer PowerShell.' -ForegroundColor Red
+        exit 1
+      }
+  }
+if (-not $env:VCPKG_DEFAULT_TRIPLET)
+  {
+    $env:VCPKG_DEFAULT_TRIPLET = if ((Get-WmiObject Win32_ComputerSystem).SystemType -like 'ARM64*') { 'arm64-windows' } else { 'x64-windows' }
+  }
+
+if (-not $env:MSYS_ROOT -and -not (Test-Path "$env:VCPKG_ROOT\vcpkg.exe" -Type Leaf))
   {
     $env:MSYS_ROOT = $(Get-ChildItem HKCU:\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall -Recurse | ForEach-Object { Get-ItemProperty $_.PSPath -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue } | Where-Object { $_.PSObject.Properties.Value -like "*The MSYS2 Developers*" } | ForEach-Object { return "$($_.InstallLocation)" }) -replace '\\','/'
     if ("$env:MSYS_ROOT" -eq '')
@@ -35,9 +49,20 @@ if (-not $env:MSYSTEM_PREFIX)
     $env:MSYSTEM_PREFIX = if ((Get-WmiObject Win32_ComputerSystem).SystemType -like 'ARM64*') { 'clangarm64' } else { 'clang64' }
   }
 
-Write-Output "$([char]27)[0Ksection_start:$(Get-Date -UFormat %s -Millisecond 0):deps_install[collapsed=true]$([char]13)$([char]27)[0KInstalling dependencies provided by MSYS2"
-powershell -Command { $ProgressPreference = 'SilentlyContinue'; $env:PATH="$env:MSYS_ROOT\usr\bin;$env:PATH"; pacman --noconfirm -Suy }; if ("$LASTEXITCODE" -gt '0') { exit 1 }
-powershell -Command { $ProgressPreference = 'SilentlyContinue'; $env:PATH="$env:MSYS_ROOT\usr\bin;$env:PATH"; pacman --noconfirm -S --needed $(if ($env:MSYSTEM_PREFIX -ne 'mingw32') { "$(if ($env:MSYSTEM_PREFIX -eq 'clangarm64') { 'mingw-w64-clang-aarch64' } else { 'mingw-w64-clang-x86_64' })-perl" }) (Get-Content build/windows/all-deps-uni.txt | Where-Object { $_.Trim() -ne '' -and -not $_.Trim().StartsWith('#') }).Replace('${MINGW_PACKAGE_PREFIX}',$(if ($env:MINGW_PACKAGE_PREFIX) { "$env:MINGW_PACKAGE_PREFIX" } elseif ($env:MSYSTEM_PREFIX -eq 'clangarm64') { 'mingw-w64-clang-aarch64' } else { 'mingw-w64-clang-x86_64' })).Replace(' \','') }; if ("$LASTEXITCODE" -gt '0') { exit 1 }
+Write-Output "$([char]27)[0Ksection_start:$(Get-Date -UFormat %s -Millisecond 0):deps_install[collapsed=true]$([char]13)$([char]27)[0KInstalling dependencies provided by $(if ("$env:VCPKG_ROOT" -ne '') {'vcpkg'} else {'MSYS2'})"
+if (Test-Path "$env:VCPKG_ROOT\vcpkg.exe" -Type Leaf)
+  {
+    & "$env:VCPKG_ROOT\vcpkg.exe" upgrade --no-dry-run
+    & "$env:VCPKG_ROOT\vcpkg.exe" install (Get-Content build/windows/all-deps-vcpkg.txt | Where-Object { $_.Trim() -ne '' -and -not $_.Trim().StartsWith('#') }).Replace(' \','')
+    $env:PKG_CONFIG="$env:VCPKG_ROOT\installed\$env:VCPKG_DEFAULT_TRIPLET\tools\pkgconf\pkgconf.exe"
+    $env:CC='clang-cl' 
+  }
+else
+  {
+    Write-Output '(INFO): vcpkg installation not found. Falling back to MSYS2...'
+    powershell -Command { $ProgressPreference = 'SilentlyContinue'; $env:PATH="$env:MSYS_ROOT\usr\bin;$env:PATH"; pacman --noconfirm -Suy }; if ("$LASTEXITCODE" -gt '0') { exit 1 }
+    powershell -Command { $ProgressPreference = 'SilentlyContinue'; $env:PATH="$env:MSYS_ROOT\usr\bin;$env:PATH"; pacman --noconfirm -S --needed $(if ($env:MSYSTEM_PREFIX -ne 'mingw32') { "$(if ($env:MSYSTEM_PREFIX -eq 'clangarm64') { 'mingw-w64-clang-aarch64' } else { 'mingw-w64-clang-x86_64' })-perl" }) (Get-Content build/windows/all-deps-uni.txt | Where-Object { $_.Trim() -ne '' -and -not $_.Trim().StartsWith('#') }).Replace('${MINGW_PACKAGE_PREFIX}',$(if ($env:MINGW_PACKAGE_PREFIX) { "$env:MINGW_PACKAGE_PREFIX" } elseif ($env:MSYSTEM_PREFIX -eq 'clangarm64') { 'mingw-w64-clang-aarch64' } else { 'mingw-w64-clang-x86_64' })).Replace(' \','') }; if ("$LASTEXITCODE" -gt '0') { exit 1 }
+  }
 Write-Output "$([char]27)[0Ksection_end:$(Get-Date -UFormat %s -Millisecond 0):deps_install$([char]13)$([char]27)[0K"
 
 
@@ -105,7 +130,7 @@ function self_build ([string]$repo, [array]$branch, [array]$patches, [array]$opt
         if ((Test-Path meson.build -Type Leaf) -and -not (Test-Path CMakeLists.txt -Type Leaf))
           {
             #babl and GEGL already auto install .pdb but we don't know about other eventual deps
-            if ("$env:MSYSTEM_PREFIX" -ne 'MINGW32')
+            if (-not "$env:VSINSTALLDIR" -and "$env:MSYSTEM_PREFIX" -ne 'MINGW32')
               {
                 if ("$dep" -ne 'babl' -and "$dep" -ne 'gegl')
                   {
@@ -119,7 +144,7 @@ function self_build ([string]$repo, [array]$branch, [array]$patches, [array]$opt
           }
         elseif (Test-Path CMakeLists.txt -Type Leaf)
           {
-            if ("$env:MSYSTEM_PREFIX" -ne 'MINGW32')
+            if (-not "$env:VSINSTALLDIR" -and "$env:MSYSTEM_PREFIX" -ne 'MINGW32')
               {
                 Add-Content CMakeLists.txt "install(CODE `"execute_process(COMMAND `${Python3_EXECUTABLE`} $("$GIMP_DIR".Replace('\','/'))/build/windows/2_bundle-gimp-uni_sym.py`)`")"
                 $clang_opts_cmake=@('-DCMAKE_C_FLAGS="-gcodeview"', '-DCMAKE_CXX_FLAGS="-gcodeview"', '-DCMAKE_EXE_LINKER_FLAGS="-Wl,--pdb="', '-DCMAKE_SHARED_LINKER_FLAGS="-Wl,--pdb="', '-DCMAKE_MODULE_LINKER_FLAGS="-Wl,--pdb="')
@@ -138,6 +163,10 @@ function self_build ([string]$repo, [array]$branch, [array]$patches, [array]$opt
   }
 
 self_build babl
+if ("$VARIANT" -eq '-msvc')
+  {
+    exit 0
+  }
 self_build gegl @('build/windows/patches/0001-meson-only-generate-CodeView-.pdb-symbols-on-Windows.patch') @('-Dworkshop=true')
 if ("$env:MSYSTEM_PREFIX" -ne 'MINGW32')
   {
diff --git a/build/windows/2_build-gimp-msys2.ps1 b/build/windows/2_build-gimp-msys2.ps1
index 4925bc8dc8..3efc66d365 100644
--- a/build/windows/2_build-gimp-msys2.ps1
+++ b/build/windows/2_build-gimp-msys2.ps1
@@ -21,11 +21,11 @@ if (-not $GITLAB_CI)
 
 
 # Install the required (pre-built) packages for babl, GEGL and GIMP (again)
-Invoke-Expression ((Get-Content build\windows\1_build-deps-msys2.ps1 | Select-String 'MSYS_ROOT\)' -Context 0,12) -replace '> ','')
+Invoke-Expression ((Get-Content build\windows\1_build-deps-msys2.ps1 | Select-String '-not \$env:VCPKG_ROOT' -Context 0,26) -replace '> ','')
 
 if ($GITLAB_CI)
   {
-    Invoke-Expression ((Get-Content build\windows\1_build-deps-msys2.ps1 | Select-String 'deps_install\[' -Context 0,6) -replace '> ','')
+    Invoke-Expression ((Get-Content build\windows\1_build-deps-msys2.ps1 | Select-String 'deps_install\[' -Context 0,14) -replace '> ','')
   }
 
 
diff --git a/build/windows/all-deps-vcpkg.txt b/build/windows/all-deps-vcpkg.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..2ce97594a5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/build/windows/all-deps-vcpkg.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,9 @@
+# DEPS AT BUILD-TIME ONLY
+pkgconf \
+
+# DEPS AT RUNTIME
+#glib \
+#json-glib \
+lcms \
+#libjpeg-turbo \
+#libpng