diff --git a/include/SDL3/SDL_hints.h b/include/SDL3/SDL_hints.h
index 96637815ea..1c20b7a0f6 100644
--- a/include/SDL3/SDL_hints.h
+++ b/include/SDL3/SDL_hints.h
@@ -2309,7 +2309,8 @@ extern "C" {
  * A variable controlling whether warping a hidden mouse cursor will activate
  * relative mouse mode.
  *
- * When this hint is set and the mouse cursor is hidden, SDL will emulate
+ * When this hint is set, the mouse cursor is hidden, and multiple warps to
+ * the window center occur within a short time period, SDL will emulate
  * mouse warps using relative mouse mode. This can provide smoother and more
  * reliable mouse motion for some older games, which continuously calculate
  * the distance travelled by the mouse pointer and warp it back to the center
@@ -2318,9 +2319,8 @@ extern "C" {
  * Note that relative mouse mode may have different mouse acceleration
  * behavior than pointer warps.
  *
- * If your game or application needs to warp the mouse cursor while hidden for
- * other purposes, such as drawing a software cursor, it should disable this
- * hint.
+ * If your application needs to repeatedly warp the hidden mouse cursor at a
+ * high-frequency for other purposes, it should disable this hint.
  *
  * The variable can be set to the following values:
  *
diff --git a/src/events/SDL_mouse.c b/src/events/SDL_mouse.c
index 7842f2a636..06ff779562 100644
--- a/src/events/SDL_mouse.c
+++ b/src/events/SDL_mouse.c
@@ -33,6 +33,8 @@
 
 /* #define DEBUG_MOUSE */
 
+#define WARP_EMULATION_THRESHOLD_NS SDL_MS_TO_NS(30)
+
 typedef struct SDL_MouseInstance
 {
     SDL_MouseID instance_id;
@@ -1271,22 +1273,53 @@ void SDL_PerformWarpMouseInWindow(SDL_Window *window, float x, float y, SDL_bool
     }
 }
 
-static void SDL_EnableWarpEmulation(SDL_Mouse *mouse)
+void SDL_DisableMouseWarpEmulation()
 {
-    if (!mouse->cursor_shown && mouse->warp_emulation_hint && !mouse->warp_emulation_prohibited) {
-        if (SDL_SetRelativeMouseMode(SDL_TRUE) == 0) {
-            mouse->warp_emulation_active = SDL_TRUE;
+    SDL_Mouse *mouse = SDL_GetMouse();
+
+    if (mouse->warp_emulation_active) {
+        SDL_SetRelativeMouseMode(SDL_FALSE);
+    }
+
+    mouse->warp_emulation_prohibited = SDL_TRUE;
+}
+
+static void SDL_MaybeEnableWarpEmulation(SDL_Window *window, float x, float y)
+{
+    SDL_Mouse *mouse = SDL_GetMouse();
+
+    if (!mouse->warp_emulation_prohibited && mouse->warp_emulation_hint && !mouse->cursor_shown && !mouse->warp_emulation_active) {
+        if (!window) {
+            window = mouse->focus;
         }
 
-        /* Disable attempts at enabling warp emulation until further notice. */
-        mouse->warp_emulation_prohibited = SDL_TRUE;
+        if (window) {
+            const float cx = window->w / 2.f;
+            const float cy = window->h / 2.f;
+            if (x >= SDL_floorf(cx) && x <= SDL_ceilf(cx) &&
+                y >= SDL_floorf(cy) && y <= SDL_ceilf(cy)) {
+
+                /* Require two consecutive warps to the center within a certain timespan to enter warp emulation mode. */
+                const Uint64 now = SDL_GetTicksNS();
+                if (now - mouse->last_center_warp_time_ns < WARP_EMULATION_THRESHOLD_NS) {
+                    if (SDL_SetRelativeMouseMode(SDL_TRUE) == 0) {
+                        mouse->warp_emulation_active = SDL_TRUE;
+                    }
+                }
+
+                mouse->last_center_warp_time_ns = now;
+                return;
+            }
+        }
+
+        mouse->last_center_warp_time_ns = 0;
     }
 }
 
 void SDL_WarpMouseInWindow(SDL_Window *window, float x, float y)
 {
     SDL_Mouse *mouse = SDL_GetMouse();
-    SDL_EnableWarpEmulation(mouse);
+    SDL_MaybeEnableWarpEmulation(window, x, y);
 
     SDL_PerformWarpMouseInWindow(window, x, y, mouse->warp_emulation_active);
 }
@@ -1317,16 +1350,9 @@ int SDL_SetRelativeMouseMode(SDL_bool enabled)
     SDL_Mouse *mouse = SDL_GetMouse();
     SDL_Window *focusWindow = SDL_GetKeyboardFocus();
 
-    if (enabled) {
-        if (mouse->warp_emulation_active) {
-            mouse->warp_emulation_active = SDL_FALSE;
-        }
-
-        /* If the app has used relative mode before, it probably shouldn't
-         * also be emulating it using repeated mouse warps, so disable
-         * mouse warp emulation by default.
-         */
-        mouse->warp_emulation_prohibited = SDL_TRUE;
+    if (!enabled) {
+        /* If warps were being emulated, reset the flag. */
+        mouse->warp_emulation_active = SDL_FALSE;
     }
 
     if (enabled == mouse->relative_mode) {
@@ -1701,7 +1727,6 @@ int SDL_ShowCursor(void)
     if (mouse->warp_emulation_active) {
         SDL_SetRelativeMouseMode(SDL_FALSE);
         mouse->warp_emulation_active = SDL_FALSE;
-        mouse->warp_emulation_prohibited = SDL_FALSE;
     }
 
     if (!mouse->cursor_shown) {
diff --git a/src/events/SDL_mouse_c.h b/src/events/SDL_mouse_c.h
index fd6456f91f..3b8d89a432 100644
--- a/src/events/SDL_mouse_c.h
+++ b/src/events/SDL_mouse_c.h
@@ -97,6 +97,7 @@ typedef struct
     SDL_bool warp_emulation_hint;
     SDL_bool warp_emulation_active;
     SDL_bool warp_emulation_prohibited;
+    Uint64 last_center_warp_time_ns;
     int relative_mode_clip_interval;
     SDL_bool enable_normal_speed_scale;
     float normal_speed_scale;
@@ -183,6 +184,7 @@ extern void SDL_PerformWarpMouseInWindow(SDL_Window *window, float x, float y, S
 extern int SDL_SetRelativeMouseMode(SDL_bool enabled);
 extern SDL_bool SDL_GetRelativeMouseMode(void);
 extern void SDL_UpdateRelativeMouseMode(void);
+extern void SDL_DisableMouseWarpEmulation(void);
 
 /* TODO RECONNECT: Set mouse state to "zero" */
 #if 0
diff --git a/src/video/SDL_video.c b/src/video/SDL_video.c
index cc2f70976b..f4fc4d286f 100644
--- a/src/video/SDL_video.c
+++ b/src/video/SDL_video.c
@@ -3786,6 +3786,12 @@ int SDL_SetWindowRelativeMouseMode(SDL_Window *window, SDL_bool enabled)
 {
     CHECK_WINDOW_MAGIC(window, -1);
 
+    /* If the app toggles relative mode directly, it probably shouldn't
+     * also be emulating it using repeated mouse warps, so disable
+     * mouse warp emulation by default.
+     */
+    SDL_DisableMouseWarpEmulation();
+
     if (enabled == SDL_GetWindowRelativeMouseMode(window)) {
         return 0;
     }