diff --git a/OpenRA.Game/Sound/Sound.cs b/OpenRA.Game/Sound/Sound.cs
index a4912aa065..32c8e64b17 100644
--- a/OpenRA.Game/Sound/Sound.cs
+++ b/OpenRA.Game/Sound/Sound.cs
@@ -45,10 +45,12 @@ namespace OpenRA
 		ISound video;
 		MusicInfo currentMusic;
 		Dictionary<uint, ISound> currentSounds = new Dictionary<uint, ISound>();
+		public bool DummyEngine { get; private set; }
 
 		public Sound(IPlatform platform, SoundSettings soundSettings)
 		{
 			soundEngine = platform.CreateSound(soundSettings.Device);
+			DummyEngine = soundEngine.Dummy;
 
 			if (soundSettings.Mute)
 				MuteAudio();
diff --git a/OpenRA.Game/Sound/SoundDevice.cs b/OpenRA.Game/Sound/SoundDevice.cs
index 148e6a87bd..0a8c819165 100644
--- a/OpenRA.Game/Sound/SoundDevice.cs
+++ b/OpenRA.Game/Sound/SoundDevice.cs
@@ -20,6 +20,7 @@ namespace OpenRA
 		ISoundSource AddSoundSourceFromMemory(byte[] data, int channels, int sampleBits, int sampleRate);
 		ISound Play2D(ISoundSource sound, bool loop, bool relative, WPos pos, float volume, bool attenuateVolume);
 		ISound Play2DStream(Stream stream, int channels, int sampleBits, int sampleRate, bool loop, bool relative, WPos pos, float volume);
+		bool Dummy { get; }
 		float Volume { get; set; }
 		void PauseSound(ISound sound, bool paused);
 		void StopSound(ISound sound);
diff --git a/OpenRA.Mods.Common/Widgets/VqaPlayerWidget.cs b/OpenRA.Mods.Common/Widgets/VqaPlayerWidget.cs
index cd840d1379..af50e477b4 100644
--- a/OpenRA.Mods.Common/Widgets/VqaPlayerWidget.cs
+++ b/OpenRA.Mods.Common/Widgets/VqaPlayerWidget.cs
@@ -104,7 +104,7 @@ namespace OpenRA.Mods.Common.Widgets
 			if (!stopped && !paused)
 			{
 				var nextFrame = 0;
-				if (video.HasAudio)
+				if (video.HasAudio && !Game.Sound.DummyEngine)
 					nextFrame = (int)float2.Lerp(0, video.Frames, Game.Sound.VideoSeekPosition * invLength);
 				else
 					nextFrame = video.CurrentFrame + 1;
diff --git a/OpenRA.Platforms.Default/DefaultPlatform.cs b/OpenRA.Platforms.Default/DefaultPlatform.cs
index 59ae4c3c2e..8174c8a2a0 100644
--- a/OpenRA.Platforms.Default/DefaultPlatform.cs
+++ b/OpenRA.Platforms.Default/DefaultPlatform.cs
@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@
  */
 #endregion
 
+using System;
 using OpenRA.Primitives;
 
 namespace OpenRA.Platforms.Default
@@ -22,7 +23,15 @@ namespace OpenRA.Platforms.Default
 
 		public ISoundEngine CreateSound(string device)
 		{
-			return new OpenAlSoundEngine(device);
+			try
+			{
+				return new OpenAlSoundEngine(device);
+			}
+			catch (InvalidOperationException e)
+			{
+				Log.Write("sound", "Failed to initialize OpenAL device. Error was {0}", e);
+				return new DummySoundEngine(device);
+			}
 		}
 
 		public IFont CreateFont(byte[] data)
diff --git a/OpenRA.Platforms.Default/DummySoundEngine.cs b/OpenRA.Platforms.Default/DummySoundEngine.cs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..44cf889462
--- /dev/null
+++ b/OpenRA.Platforms.Default/DummySoundEngine.cs
@@ -0,0 +1,75 @@
+#region Copyright & License Information
+/*
+ * Copyright 2007-2019 The OpenRA Developers (see AUTHORS)
+ * This file is part of OpenRA, which is free software. It is made
+ * available to you under the terms of the GNU General Public License
+ * as published by the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of
+ * the License, or (at your option) any later version. For more
+ * information, see COPYING.
+ */
+#endregion
+
+using System.IO;
+
+namespace OpenRA.Platforms.Default
+{
+	sealed class DummySoundEngine : ISoundEngine
+	{
+		public bool Dummy { get { return true; } }
+
+		public SoundDevice[] AvailableDevices()
+		{
+			var defaultDevices = new[]
+			{
+				new SoundDevice(null, "Default Output"),
+			};
+
+			return defaultDevices;
+		}
+
+		public DummySoundEngine(string deviceName) { }
+
+		public ISoundSource AddSoundSourceFromMemory(byte[] data, int channels, int sampleBits, int sampleRate)
+		{
+			return new NullSoundSource();
+		}
+
+		public ISound Play2D(ISoundSource soundSource, bool loop, bool relative, WPos pos, float volume, bool attenuateVolume)
+		{
+			return new NullSound();
+		}
+
+		public ISound Play2DStream(Stream stream, int channels, int sampleBits, int sampleRate, bool loop, bool relative, WPos pos, float volume)
+		{
+			return null;
+		}
+
+		public float Volume
+		{
+			get { return 0; }
+			set { }
+		}
+
+		public void PauseSound(ISound sound, bool paused) { }
+		public void SetAllSoundsPaused(bool paused) { }
+		public void SetSoundVolume(float volume, ISound music, ISound video) { }
+		public void StopSound(ISound sound) { }
+		public void StopAllSounds() { }
+		public void SetListenerPosition(WPos position) { }
+		public void Dispose() { }
+	}
+
+	class NullSoundSource : ISoundSource
+	{
+		public void Dispose() { }
+	}
+
+	class NullSound : ISound
+	{
+		public float Volume { get; set; }
+		public float SeekPosition { get { return 0; } }
+		public bool Complete { get { return false; } }
+
+		public void SetPosition(WPos position) { }
+	}
+}
diff --git a/OpenRA.Platforms.Default/OpenAlSoundEngine.cs b/OpenRA.Platforms.Default/OpenAlSoundEngine.cs
index d2f1390ac4..ae3879614b 100644
--- a/OpenRA.Platforms.Default/OpenAlSoundEngine.cs
+++ b/OpenRA.Platforms.Default/OpenAlSoundEngine.cs
@@ -23,6 +23,8 @@ namespace OpenRA.Platforms.Default
 {
 	sealed class OpenAlSoundEngine : ISoundEngine
 	{
+		public bool Dummy { get { return false; } }
+
 		public SoundDevice[] AvailableDevices()
 		{
 			var defaultDevices = new[]