diff --git a/mk/linux/configuration.xml b/mk/linux/configuration.xml
index 160e5e7d..780f8b63 100644
--- a/mk/linux/configuration.xml
+++ b/mk/linux/configuration.xml
@@ -215,6 +215,16 @@ shadows and shadow mapping, bigger sizes result in less pixelized shadows but ar
 					<enum value="false"/>
 				</enums>
 			</field>
+			<field type="Enum">
+				<name value="Auto maximum screen"/>
+				<variable-name value="AutoMaxFullScreen"/>
+				<description value="Automatically use maximum screen space and resolution"/>
+				<default value="true"/>
+				<enums>
+					<enum value="true"/>
+					<enum value="false"/>
+				</enums>
+			</field>
 		</field-group>
 
 		<field-group name="Audio">
diff --git a/source/glest_game/main/program.cpp b/source/glest_game/main/program.cpp
index 46f74926..21d53488 100644
--- a/source/glest_game/main/program.cpp
+++ b/source/glest_game/main/program.cpp
@@ -319,6 +319,13 @@ void Program::setDisplaySettings(){
 		int screenWidth= config.getInt("ScreenWidth");
 		int screenHeight= config.getInt("ScreenHeight");
 
+        if(config.getBool("AutoMaxFullScreen","false") == true) {
+            getFullscreenVideoInfo(colorBits,screenWidth,screenHeight);
+            config.setInt("ColorBits",colorBits);
+            config.setInt("ScreenWidth",screenWidth);
+            config.setInt("ScreenHeight",screenHeight);
+        }
+
 		if(!(changeVideoMode(screenWidth, screenHeight, colorBits, freq) ||
 			changeVideoMode(screenWidth, screenHeight, colorBits, 0)))
 		{
diff --git a/source/shared_lib/include/platform/sdl/platform_util.h b/source/shared_lib/include/platform/sdl/platform_util.h
index 5dd43ce1..9813dc0e 100644
--- a/source/shared_lib/include/platform/sdl/platform_util.h
+++ b/source/shared_lib/include/platform/sdl/platform_util.h
@@ -97,6 +97,7 @@ vector<std::pair<string,int32> > getFolderTreeContentsCheckSumListRecursively(co
 void createDirectoryPaths(string  Path);
 string extractDirectoryPathFromFile(string filename);
 
+void getFullscreenVideoInfo(int &colorBits,int &screenWidth,int &screenHeight);
 bool changeVideoMode(int resH, int resW, int colorBits, int refreshFrequency);
 void restoreVideoMode();
 
diff --git a/source/shared_lib/sources/platform/sdl/platform_util.cpp b/source/shared_lib/sources/platform/sdl/platform_util.cpp
index c540edc1..1fb1241e 100644
--- a/source/shared_lib/sources/platform/sdl/platform_util.cpp
+++ b/source/shared_lib/sources/platform/sdl/platform_util.cpp
@@ -435,6 +435,14 @@ void createDirectoryPaths(string Path)
  mkdir(DirName, S_IRWXO);
 }
 
+void getFullscreenVideoInfo(int &colorBits,int &screenWidth,int &screenHeight) {
+    // Get the current video hardware information
+    const SDL_VideoInfo* vidInfo = SDL_GetVideoInfo();
+    colorBits      = vidInfo->vfmt->BitsPerPixel;
+    screenWidth    = vidInfo->current_w;
+    screenHeight   = vidInfo->current_h;
+}
+
 bool changeVideoMode(int resW, int resH, int colorBits, int ) {
 	Private::shouldBeFullscreen = true;
 	return true;
diff --git a/source/shared_lib/sources/platform/win32/platform_util.cpp b/source/shared_lib/sources/platform/win32/platform_util.cpp
index cb68b8f6..8738ce22 100644
--- a/source/shared_lib/sources/platform/win32/platform_util.cpp
+++ b/source/shared_lib/sources/platform/win32/platform_util.cpp
@@ -23,6 +23,7 @@
 #include <sys/stat.h>
 #include <direct.h>
 #include <algorithm>
+#include "opengl.h"
 
 #include "leak_dumper.h"
 
@@ -452,6 +453,14 @@ void createDirectoryPaths(string Path)
  }
  _mkdir(DirName);
 }
+
+void getFullscreenVideoInfo(int &colorBits,int &screenWidth,int &screenHeight) {
+    // Get the current video hardware information
+    const SDL_VideoInfo* vidInfo = SDL_GetVideoInfo();
+    colorBits      = vidInfo->vfmt->BitsPerPixel;
+    screenWidth    = vidInfo->current_w;
+    screenHeight   = vidInfo->current_h;
+}
 
 bool changeVideoMode(int resW, int resH, int colorBits, int refreshFrequency){
 	DEVMODE devMode;