diff --git a/source/lib/sysdep/filesystem.h b/source/lib/sysdep/filesystem.h
index f3518c53fa..7d0c72f059 100644
--- a/source/lib/sysdep/filesystem.h
+++ b/source/lib/sysdep/filesystem.h
@@ -56,13 +56,6 @@ extern int wopen(const OsPath& pathname, int oflag, mode_t mode);
 extern int wclose(int fd);
 
 
-//
-// stdlib.h
-//
-
-OsPath wrealpath(const OsPath& pathname);
-
-
 //
 // sys/stat.h
 //
diff --git a/source/lib/sysdep/os/unix/ufilesystem.cpp b/source/lib/sysdep/os/unix/ufilesystem.cpp
index 1ca2f2e14c..9444390c1d 100644
--- a/source/lib/sysdep/os/unix/ufilesystem.cpp
+++ b/source/lib/sysdep/os/unix/ufilesystem.cpp
@@ -98,15 +98,6 @@ int wrename(const OsPath& pathnameOld, const OsPath& pathnameNew)
 	return rename(OsString(pathnameOld).c_str(), OsString(pathnameNew).c_str());
 }
 
-OsPath wrealpath(const OsPath& pathname)
-{
-	char resolvedBuf[PATH_MAX];
-	const char* resolved = realpath(OsString(pathname).c_str(), resolvedBuf);
-	if(!resolved)
-		return OsPath();
-	return resolved;
-}
-
 int wstat(const OsPath& pathname, struct stat* buf)
 {
 	return stat(OsString(pathname).c_str(), buf);
diff --git a/source/lib/sysdep/os/win/wposix/wfilesystem.cpp b/source/lib/sysdep/os/win/wposix/wfilesystem.cpp
index 26de25d38a..6bbe3b88b9 100644
--- a/source/lib/sysdep/os/win/wposix/wfilesystem.cpp
+++ b/source/lib/sysdep/os/win/wposix/wfilesystem.cpp
@@ -131,15 +131,6 @@ int wclose(int fd)
 }
 
 
-OsPath wrealpath(const OsPath& pathname)
-{
-	wchar_t resolved[PATH_MAX];
-	if(!GetFullPathNameW(OsString(pathname).c_str(), PATH_MAX, resolved, 0))
-		return OsPath();
-	return resolved;
-}
-
-
 static int ErrnoFromCreateDirectory()
 {
 	switch(GetLastError())
diff --git a/source/ps/GameSetup/Paths.cpp b/source/ps/GameSetup/Paths.cpp
index 4a6927139f..8fd8d331e5 100644
--- a/source/ps/GameSetup/Paths.cpp
+++ b/source/ps/GameSetup/Paths.cpp
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-/* Copyright (C) 2025 Wildfire Games.
+/* Copyright (C) 2026 Wildfire Games.
  * This file is part of 0 A.D.
  *
  * 0 A.D. is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify
@@ -23,7 +23,6 @@
 #include "lib/file/file_system.h"
 #include "lib/path.h"
 #include "lib/status.h"
-#include "lib/sysdep/filesystem.h"	// wrealpath
 #include "lib/sysdep/os.h"
 #include "lib/sysdep/sysdep.h"	// sys_get_executable_name
 #include "ps/CLogger.h"
@@ -32,7 +31,9 @@
 
 #include <cerrno>
 #include <cstdlib>
+#include <filesystem>
 #include <string>
+#include <system_error>
 
 #if OS_WIN
 # include "lib/sysdep/os/win/wutil.h"	// wutil_*Path
@@ -176,10 +177,13 @@ Paths::Paths(const CmdLineArgs& args)
 	OsPath pathname = sys_ExecutablePathname();	// safe, but requires OS-specific implementation
 	if(pathname.empty())	// failed, use argv[0] instead
 	{
-		errno = 0;
-		pathname = wrealpath(argv0);
-		if(pathname.empty())
-			WARN_IF_ERR(StatusFromErrno());
+		const std::filesystem::path rpath{argv0.string()};
+		std::error_code ec{};
+		const std::filesystem::path cpath{std::filesystem::canonical(rpath, ec)};
+		if (ec)
+			LOGERROR("Failed to get absolute path of argv0, reason: %s", ec.message());
+		else
+			pathname = OsPath(cpath.wstring());
 	}
 
 	// make sure it's valid