diff --git a/file.c b/file.c
index d4b8acf48e..55a940d6b0 100644
--- a/file.c
+++ b/file.c
@@ -533,34 +533,38 @@ static bool load_roms(unsigned rom_type, const char **rom_paths, size_t roms)
    void *rom_buf[MAX_ROMS] = {NULL};
    ssize_t rom_len[MAX_ROMS] = {0};
    struct retro_game_info info[MAX_ROMS] = {{NULL}};
+   char *xml_buf = load_xml_map(g_extern.xml_name);
+
+   FILE *rom_file = NULL;
+   if (rom_paths[0])
+   {
+      RARCH_LOG("Loading ROM file: %s.\n", rom_paths[0]);
+      rom_file = fopen(rom_paths[0], "rb");
+   }
 
    if (!g_extern.system.info.need_fullpath)
    {
-      if ((rom_len[0] = read_rom_file(g_extern.rom_file, &rom_buf[0])) == -1)
+      if ((rom_len[0] = read_rom_file(rom_file, &rom_buf[0])) == -1)
       {
          RARCH_ERR("Could not read ROM file.\n");
-         return false;
+         ret = false;
+         goto end;
       }
 
-      if (g_extern.rom_file)
-         fclose(g_extern.rom_file);
-
       RARCH_LOG("ROM size: %u bytes.\n", (unsigned)rom_len[0]);
    }
    else
    {
-      if (!g_extern.rom_file)
+      if (!rom_file)
       {
          RARCH_ERR("Implementation requires a full path to be set, cannot load ROM from stdin. Aborting ...\n");
-         return false;
+         ret = false;
+         goto end;
       }
 
-      fclose(g_extern.rom_file);
       RARCH_LOG("ROM loading skipped. Implementation will load it on its own.\n");
    }
 
-   char *xml_buf = load_xml_map(g_extern.xml_name);
-
    info[0].path = rom_paths[0];
    info[0].data = rom_buf[0];
    info[0].size = rom_len[0];
@@ -594,6 +598,8 @@ end:
    for (unsigned i = 0; i < MAX_ROMS; i++)
       free(rom_buf[i]);
    free(xml_buf);
+   if (rom_file)
+      fclose(rom_file);
 
    return ret;
 }
diff --git a/general.h b/general.h
index 38275bb9c3..301971ddce 100644
--- a/general.h
+++ b/general.h
@@ -309,7 +309,6 @@ struct global
    bool has_justifiers;
    bool has_multitap;
 
-   FILE *rom_file;
    enum rarch_game_type game_type;
    uint32_t cart_crc;
 
diff --git a/retroarch.c b/retroarch.c
index f5652ac6aa..761159c10b 100644
--- a/retroarch.c
+++ b/retroarch.c
@@ -718,14 +718,6 @@ static void set_paths(const char *path)
 {
    set_basename(path);
 
-   RARCH_LOG("Opening file: \"%s\"\n", path);
-   g_extern.rom_file = fopen(path, "rb");
-   if (g_extern.rom_file == NULL)
-   {
-      RARCH_ERR("Could not open file: \"%s\"\n", path);
-      rarch_fail(1, "set_paths()");
-   }
-
    if (!g_extern.has_set_save_path)
       fill_pathname_noext(g_extern.savefile_name_srm, g_extern.basename, ".srm", sizeof(g_extern.savefile_name_srm));
    if (!g_extern.has_set_state_path)