diff --git a/osu.Game.Rulesets.Mania/Configuration/ManiaRulesetConfigManager.cs b/osu.Game.Rulesets.Mania/Configuration/ManiaRulesetConfigManager.cs
index ac8168dfc9..d9bd0ab609 100644
--- a/osu.Game.Rulesets.Mania/Configuration/ManiaRulesetConfigManager.cs
+++ b/osu.Game.Rulesets.Mania/Configuration/ManiaRulesetConfigManager.cs
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@
 
 using System;
 using osu.Framework.Configuration.Tracking;
-using osu.Game.Configuration;
+using osu.Game.Database;
 using osu.Game.Rulesets.Configuration;
 using osu.Game.Rulesets.Mania.UI;
 
@@ -11,8 +11,8 @@ namespace osu.Game.Rulesets.Mania.Configuration
 {
     public class ManiaRulesetConfigManager : RulesetConfigManager<ManiaRulesetSetting>
     {
-        public ManiaRulesetConfigManager(SettingsStore settings, RulesetInfo ruleset, int? variant = null)
-            : base(settings, ruleset, variant)
+        public ManiaRulesetConfigManager(RealmContextFactory realmFactory, RulesetInfo ruleset, int? variant = null)
+            : base(realmFactory, ruleset, variant)
         {
         }
 
diff --git a/osu.Game.Rulesets.Mania/ManiaRuleset.cs b/osu.Game.Rulesets.Mania/ManiaRuleset.cs
index 1f79dae280..7ad27b94eb 100644
--- a/osu.Game.Rulesets.Mania/ManiaRuleset.cs
+++ b/osu.Game.Rulesets.Mania/ManiaRuleset.cs
@@ -17,7 +17,7 @@ using osu.Game.Graphics;
 using osu.Game.Rulesets.Mania.Replays;
 using osu.Game.Rulesets.Replays.Types;
 using osu.Game.Beatmaps.Legacy;
-using osu.Game.Configuration;
+using osu.Game.Database;
 using osu.Game.Overlays.Settings;
 using osu.Game.Rulesets.Configuration;
 using osu.Game.Rulesets.Difficulty;
@@ -278,7 +278,7 @@ namespace osu.Game.Rulesets.Mania
 
         public override IConvertibleReplayFrame CreateConvertibleReplayFrame() => new ManiaReplayFrame();
 
-        public override IRulesetConfigManager CreateConfig(SettingsStore settings) => new ManiaRulesetConfigManager(settings, RulesetInfo);
+        public override IRulesetConfigManager CreateConfig(RealmContextFactory realmFactory) => new ManiaRulesetConfigManager(realmFactory, RulesetInfo);
 
         public override RulesetSettingsSubsection CreateSettings() => new ManiaSettingsSubsection(this);
 
diff --git a/osu.Game.Rulesets.Osu/Configuration/OsuRulesetConfigManager.cs b/osu.Game.Rulesets.Osu/Configuration/OsuRulesetConfigManager.cs
index 9589fd576f..23c25c6558 100644
--- a/osu.Game.Rulesets.Osu/Configuration/OsuRulesetConfigManager.cs
+++ b/osu.Game.Rulesets.Osu/Configuration/OsuRulesetConfigManager.cs
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 // Copyright (c) ppy Pty Ltd <contact@ppy.sh>. Licensed under the MIT Licence.
 // See the LICENCE file in the repository root for full licence text.
 
-using osu.Game.Configuration;
+using osu.Game.Database;
 using osu.Game.Rulesets.Configuration;
 using osu.Game.Rulesets.UI;
 
@@ -9,8 +9,8 @@ namespace osu.Game.Rulesets.Osu.Configuration
 {
     public class OsuRulesetConfigManager : RulesetConfigManager<OsuRulesetSetting>
     {
-        public OsuRulesetConfigManager(SettingsStore settings, RulesetInfo ruleset, int? variant = null)
-            : base(settings, ruleset, variant)
+        public OsuRulesetConfigManager(RealmContextFactory realmFactory, RulesetInfo ruleset, int? variant = null)
+            : base(realmFactory, ruleset, variant)
         {
         }
 
diff --git a/osu.Game.Rulesets.Osu/OsuRuleset.cs b/osu.Game.Rulesets.Osu/OsuRuleset.cs
index f4a93a571d..b7cb0c5313 100644
--- a/osu.Game.Rulesets.Osu/OsuRuleset.cs
+++ b/osu.Game.Rulesets.Osu/OsuRuleset.cs
@@ -1,41 +1,41 @@
 // Copyright (c) ppy Pty Ltd <contact@ppy.sh>. Licensed under the MIT Licence.
 // See the LICENCE file in the repository root for full licence text.
 
-using osu.Game.Beatmaps;
-using osu.Game.Graphics;
-using osu.Game.Rulesets.Mods;
-using osu.Game.Rulesets.Osu.Mods;
-using osu.Game.Rulesets.Osu.UI;
-using osu.Game.Rulesets.UI;
+using System;
 using System.Collections.Generic;
+using System.Linq;
+using osu.Framework.Extensions.EnumExtensions;
 using osu.Framework.Graphics;
 using osu.Framework.Graphics.Sprites;
-using osu.Game.Overlays.Settings;
 using osu.Framework.Input.Bindings;
-using osu.Game.Rulesets.Osu.Edit;
-using osu.Game.Rulesets.Edit;
-using osu.Game.Rulesets.Osu.Replays;
-using osu.Game.Rulesets.Replays.Types;
+using osu.Game.Beatmaps;
 using osu.Game.Beatmaps.Legacy;
-using osu.Game.Configuration;
+using osu.Game.Database;
+using osu.Game.Graphics;
+using osu.Game.Overlays.Settings;
 using osu.Game.Rulesets.Configuration;
 using osu.Game.Rulesets.Difficulty;
+using osu.Game.Rulesets.Edit;
+using osu.Game.Rulesets.Mods;
 using osu.Game.Rulesets.Osu.Beatmaps;
 using osu.Game.Rulesets.Osu.Configuration;
 using osu.Game.Rulesets.Osu.Difficulty;
-using osu.Game.Rulesets.Osu.Scoring;
-using osu.Game.Rulesets.Scoring;
-using osu.Game.Scoring;
-using osu.Game.Skinning;
-using System;
-using System.Linq;
-using osu.Framework.Extensions.EnumExtensions;
+using osu.Game.Rulesets.Osu.Edit;
 using osu.Game.Rulesets.Osu.Edit.Setup;
+using osu.Game.Rulesets.Osu.Mods;
 using osu.Game.Rulesets.Osu.Objects;
+using osu.Game.Rulesets.Osu.Replays;
+using osu.Game.Rulesets.Osu.Scoring;
 using osu.Game.Rulesets.Osu.Skinning.Legacy;
 using osu.Game.Rulesets.Osu.Statistics;
+using osu.Game.Rulesets.Osu.UI;
+using osu.Game.Rulesets.Replays.Types;
+using osu.Game.Rulesets.Scoring;
+using osu.Game.Rulesets.UI;
+using osu.Game.Scoring;
 using osu.Game.Screens.Edit.Setup;
 using osu.Game.Screens.Ranking.Statistics;
+using osu.Game.Skinning;
 
 namespace osu.Game.Rulesets.Osu
 {
@@ -229,7 +229,7 @@ namespace osu.Game.Rulesets.Osu
 
         public override IConvertibleReplayFrame CreateConvertibleReplayFrame() => new OsuReplayFrame();
 
-        public override IRulesetConfigManager CreateConfig(SettingsStore settings) => new OsuRulesetConfigManager(settings, RulesetInfo);
+        public override IRulesetConfigManager CreateConfig(RealmContextFactory realmFactory) => new OsuRulesetConfigManager(realmFactory, RulesetInfo);
 
         protected override IEnumerable<HitResult> GetValidHitResults()
         {
diff --git a/osu.Game.Tests/Testing/TestSceneRulesetDependencies.cs b/osu.Game.Tests/Testing/TestSceneRulesetDependencies.cs
index 8c6932e792..12960fd4d0 100644
--- a/osu.Game.Tests/Testing/TestSceneRulesetDependencies.cs
+++ b/osu.Game.Tests/Testing/TestSceneRulesetDependencies.cs
@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@ using osu.Framework.Graphics.Textures;
 using osu.Framework.IO.Stores;
 using osu.Framework.Testing;
 using osu.Game.Beatmaps;
-using osu.Game.Configuration;
+using osu.Game.Database;
 using osu.Game.Rulesets;
 using osu.Game.Rulesets.Configuration;
 using osu.Game.Rulesets.Difficulty;
@@ -74,7 +74,7 @@ namespace osu.Game.Tests.Testing
             }
 
             public override IResourceStore<byte[]> CreateResourceStore() => new NamespacedResourceStore<byte[]>(TestResources.GetStore(), @"Resources");
-            public override IRulesetConfigManager CreateConfig(SettingsStore settings) => new TestRulesetConfigManager();
+            public override IRulesetConfigManager CreateConfig(RealmContextFactory realmFactory) => new TestRulesetConfigManager();
 
             public override IEnumerable<Mod> GetModsFor(ModType type) => Array.Empty<Mod>();
             public override DrawableRuleset CreateDrawableRulesetWith(IBeatmap beatmap, IReadOnlyList<Mod> mods = null) => null;
diff --git a/osu.Game/Configuration/DatabasedConfigManager.cs b/osu.Game/Configuration/DatabasedConfigManager.cs
index b3783b45a8..0514d11e24 100644
--- a/osu.Game/Configuration/DatabasedConfigManager.cs
+++ b/osu.Game/Configuration/DatabasedConfigManager.cs
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@ using System.Collections.Generic;
 using System.Linq;
 using osu.Framework.Bindables;
 using osu.Framework.Configuration;
+using osu.Game.Database;
 using osu.Game.Rulesets;
 
 namespace osu.Game.Configuration
@@ -13,19 +14,17 @@ namespace osu.Game.Configuration
     public abstract class DatabasedConfigManager<TLookup> : ConfigManager<TLookup>
         where TLookup : struct, Enum
     {
-        private readonly SettingsStore settings;
+        private readonly RealmContextFactory realmFactory;
 
         private readonly int? variant;
 
-        private List<DatabasedSetting> databasedSettings;
+        private List<RealmSetting> databasedSettings;
 
         private readonly RulesetInfo ruleset;
 
-        private bool legacySettingsExist;
-
-        protected DatabasedConfigManager(SettingsStore settings, RulesetInfo ruleset = null, int? variant = null)
+        protected DatabasedConfigManager(RealmContextFactory realmFactory, RulesetInfo ruleset = null, int? variant = null)
         {
-            this.settings = settings;
+            this.realmFactory = realmFactory;
             this.ruleset = ruleset;
             this.variant = variant;
 
@@ -36,39 +35,22 @@ namespace osu.Game.Configuration
 
         protected override void PerformLoad()
         {
-            databasedSettings = settings.Query(ruleset?.ID, variant);
-            legacySettingsExist = databasedSettings.Any(s => int.TryParse(s.Key, out _));
+            var rulesetID = ruleset?.ID;
+
+            // As long as RulesetConfigCache exists, there is no need to subscribe to realm events.
+            databasedSettings = realmFactory.Context.All<RealmSetting>().Where(b => b.RulesetID == rulesetID && b.Variant == variant).ToList();
         }
 
         protected override bool PerformSave()
         {
-            lock (dirtySettings)
-            {
-                foreach (var setting in dirtySettings)
-                    settings.Update(setting);
-                dirtySettings.Clear();
-            }
-
+            // do nothing, realm saves immediately
             return true;
         }
 
-        private readonly List<DatabasedSetting> dirtySettings = new List<DatabasedSetting>();
-
         protected override void AddBindable<TBindable>(TLookup lookup, Bindable<TBindable> bindable)
         {
             base.AddBindable(lookup, bindable);
 
-            if (legacySettingsExist)
-            {
-                var legacySetting = databasedSettings.Find(s => s.Key == ((int)(object)lookup).ToString());
-
-                if (legacySetting != null)
-                {
-                    bindable.Parse(legacySetting.Value);
-                    settings.Delete(legacySetting);
-                }
-            }
-
             var setting = databasedSettings.Find(s => s.Key == lookup.ToString());
 
             if (setting != null)
@@ -77,12 +59,15 @@ namespace osu.Game.Configuration
             }
             else
             {
-                settings.Update(setting = new DatabasedSetting
+                realmFactory.Context.Write(() =>
                 {
-                    Key = lookup.ToString(),
-                    Value = bindable.Value,
-                    RulesetID = ruleset?.ID,
-                    Variant = variant,
+                    realmFactory.Context.Add(setting = new RealmSetting
+                    {
+                        Key = lookup.ToString(),
+                        Value = bindable.Value,
+                        RulesetID = ruleset?.ID,
+                        Variant = variant,
+                    });
                 });
 
                 databasedSettings.Add(setting);
@@ -90,13 +75,7 @@ namespace osu.Game.Configuration
 
             bindable.ValueChanged += b =>
             {
-                setting.Value = b.NewValue;
-
-                lock (dirtySettings)
-                {
-                    if (!dirtySettings.Contains(setting))
-                        dirtySettings.Add(setting);
-                }
+                realmFactory.Context.Write(() => setting.Value = b.NewValue);
             };
         }
     }
diff --git a/osu.Game/Configuration/SettingsStore.cs b/osu.Game/Configuration/SettingsStore.cs
index 864fa3cf53..49775927b1 100644
--- a/osu.Game/Configuration/SettingsStore.cs
+++ b/osu.Game/Configuration/SettingsStore.cs
@@ -4,15 +4,14 @@
 using System.Collections.Generic;
 using System.Linq;
 using osu.Game.Database;
-using Realms;
 
 namespace osu.Game.Configuration
 {
-    public class RealmSettingsStore
+    public class SettingsStore
     {
         private readonly RealmContextFactory realmFactory;
 
-        public RealmSettingsStore(RealmContextFactory realmFactory)
+        public SettingsStore(RealmContextFactory realmFactory)
         {
             this.realmFactory = realmFactory;
         }
@@ -27,21 +26,5 @@ namespace osu.Game.Configuration
             using (var context = realmFactory.GetForRead())
                 return context.Realm.All<RealmSetting>().Where(b => b.RulesetID == rulesetId && b.Variant == variant).ToList();
         }
-
-        public void Update(RealmSetting setting)
-        {
-            using (ContextFactory.GetForWrite())
-            {
-                var newValue = setting.Value;
-                Refresh(ref setting);
-                setting.Value = newValue;
-            }
-        }
-
-        public void Delete(RealmSetting setting)
-        {
-            using (var usage = ContextFactory.GetForWrite())
-                usage.Context.Remove(setting);
-        }
     }
 }
diff --git a/osu.Game/OsuGameBase.cs b/osu.Game/OsuGameBase.cs
index 12f53df6e8..600465b823 100644
--- a/osu.Game/OsuGameBase.cs
+++ b/osu.Game/OsuGameBase.cs
@@ -140,8 +140,6 @@ namespace osu.Game
 
         private FileStore fileStore;
 
-        private RealmSettingsStore settingsStore;
-
         private RulesetConfigCache rulesetConfigCache;
 
         private SpectatorClient spectatorClient;
@@ -279,8 +277,7 @@ namespace osu.Game
 
             migrateDataToRealm();
 
-            dependencies.Cache(settingsStore = new RealmSettingsStore(realmFactory));
-            dependencies.Cache(rulesetConfigCache = new RulesetConfigCache(settingsStore));
+            dependencies.Cache(rulesetConfigCache = new RulesetConfigCache(realmFactory, RulesetStore));
 
             var powerStatus = CreateBatteryInfo();
             if (powerStatus != null)
diff --git a/osu.Game/Overlays/Settings/RulesetSettingsSubsection.cs b/osu.Game/Overlays/Settings/RulesetSettingsSubsection.cs
index 93b07fbac7..9ff5b8935a 100644
--- a/osu.Game/Overlays/Settings/RulesetSettingsSubsection.cs
+++ b/osu.Game/Overlays/Settings/RulesetSettingsSubsection.cs
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
 // See the LICENCE file in the repository root for full licence text.
 
 using osu.Framework.Allocation;
-using osu.Game.Configuration;
+using osu.Game.Database;
 using osu.Game.Rulesets;
 using osu.Game.Rulesets.Configuration;
 
@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@ namespace osu.Game.Overlays.Settings
 {
     /// <summary>
     /// A <see cref="SettingsSubsection"/> which provides subclasses with the <see cref="IRulesetConfigManager"/>
-    /// from the <see cref="Ruleset"/>'s <see cref="Ruleset.CreateConfig(SettingsStore)"/>.
+    /// from the <see cref="Ruleset"/>'s <see cref="Ruleset.CreateConfig(RealmContextFactory)"/>.
     /// </summary>
     public abstract class RulesetSettingsSubsection : SettingsSubsection
     {
diff --git a/osu.Game/Rulesets/Configuration/RulesetConfigManager.cs b/osu.Game/Rulesets/Configuration/RulesetConfigManager.cs
index 0ff3455f00..17dbd30103 100644
--- a/osu.Game/Rulesets/Configuration/RulesetConfigManager.cs
+++ b/osu.Game/Rulesets/Configuration/RulesetConfigManager.cs
@@ -3,14 +3,15 @@
 
 using System;
 using osu.Game.Configuration;
+using osu.Game.Database;
 
 namespace osu.Game.Rulesets.Configuration
 {
     public abstract class RulesetConfigManager<TLookup> : DatabasedConfigManager<TLookup>, IRulesetConfigManager
         where TLookup : struct, Enum
     {
-        protected RulesetConfigManager(SettingsStore settings, RulesetInfo ruleset, int? variant = null)
-            : base(settings, ruleset, variant)
+        protected RulesetConfigManager(RealmContextFactory realmFactory, RulesetInfo ruleset, int? variant = null)
+            : base(realmFactory, ruleset, variant)
         {
         }
     }
diff --git a/osu.Game/Rulesets/Ruleset.cs b/osu.Game/Rulesets/Ruleset.cs
index b0c3836774..cf4ea4f01d 100644
--- a/osu.Game/Rulesets/Ruleset.cs
+++ b/osu.Game/Rulesets/Ruleset.cs
@@ -5,32 +5,32 @@ using System;
 using System.Collections.Concurrent;
 using System.Collections.Generic;
 using System.Linq;
+using JetBrains.Annotations;
+using osu.Framework.Extensions;
+using osu.Framework.Extensions.EnumExtensions;
 using osu.Framework.Graphics;
 using osu.Framework.Graphics.Sprites;
 using osu.Framework.Input.Bindings;
 using osu.Framework.IO.Stores;
+using osu.Framework.Testing;
 using osu.Game.Beatmaps;
-using osu.Game.Overlays.Settings;
-using osu.Game.Rulesets.Edit;
-using osu.Game.Rulesets.Mods;
-using osu.Game.Rulesets.Replays.Types;
-using osu.Game.Rulesets.UI;
 using osu.Game.Beatmaps.Legacy;
-using osu.Game.Configuration;
+using osu.Game.Database;
+using osu.Game.Extensions;
+using osu.Game.Overlays.Settings;
 using osu.Game.Rulesets.Configuration;
 using osu.Game.Rulesets.Difficulty;
-using osu.Game.Rulesets.Scoring;
-using osu.Game.Scoring;
-using osu.Game.Skinning;
-using osu.Game.Users;
-using JetBrains.Annotations;
-using osu.Framework.Extensions;
-using osu.Framework.Extensions.EnumExtensions;
-using osu.Framework.Testing;
-using osu.Game.Extensions;
+using osu.Game.Rulesets.Edit;
 using osu.Game.Rulesets.Filter;
+using osu.Game.Rulesets.Mods;
+using osu.Game.Rulesets.Replays.Types;
+using osu.Game.Rulesets.Scoring;
+using osu.Game.Rulesets.UI;
+using osu.Game.Scoring;
 using osu.Game.Screens.Edit.Setup;
 using osu.Game.Screens.Ranking.Statistics;
+using osu.Game.Skinning;
+using osu.Game.Users;
 
 namespace osu.Game.Rulesets
 {
@@ -262,8 +262,8 @@ namespace osu.Game.Rulesets
         /// <summary>
         /// Creates the <see cref="IRulesetConfigManager"/> for this <see cref="Ruleset"/>.
         /// </summary>
-        /// <param name="settings">The <see cref="SettingsStore"/> to store the settings.</param>
-        public virtual IRulesetConfigManager CreateConfig(SettingsStore settings) => null;
+        /// <param name="realmFactory">The <see cref="RealmContextFactory"/> to store the settings.</param>
+        public virtual IRulesetConfigManager CreateConfig(RealmContextFactory realmFactory) => null;
 
         /// <summary>
         /// A unique short name to reference this ruleset in online requests.
diff --git a/osu.Game/Rulesets/RulesetConfigCache.cs b/osu.Game/Rulesets/RulesetConfigCache.cs
index 885fa249df..afdf3219df 100644
--- a/osu.Game/Rulesets/RulesetConfigCache.cs
+++ b/osu.Game/Rulesets/RulesetConfigCache.cs
@@ -2,9 +2,9 @@
 // See the LICENCE file in the repository root for full licence text.
 
 using System;
-using System.Collections.Concurrent;
+using System.Collections.Generic;
 using osu.Framework.Graphics;
-using osu.Game.Configuration;
+using osu.Game.Database;
 using osu.Game.Rulesets.Configuration;
 
 namespace osu.Game.Rulesets
@@ -15,12 +15,29 @@ namespace osu.Game.Rulesets
     /// </summary>
     public class RulesetConfigCache : Component
     {
-        private readonly ConcurrentDictionary<int, IRulesetConfigManager> configCache = new ConcurrentDictionary<int, IRulesetConfigManager>();
-        private readonly RealmSettingsStore settingsStore;
+        private readonly RealmContextFactory realmFactory;
+        private readonly RulesetStore rulesets;
 
-        public RulesetConfigCache(RealmSettingsStore settingsStore)
+        private readonly Dictionary<int, IRulesetConfigManager> configCache = new Dictionary<int, IRulesetConfigManager>();
+
+        public RulesetConfigCache(RealmContextFactory realmFactory, RulesetStore rulesets)
         {
-            this.settingsStore = settingsStore;
+            this.realmFactory = realmFactory;
+            this.rulesets = rulesets;
+        }
+
+        protected override void LoadComplete()
+        {
+            base.LoadComplete();
+
+            // let's keep things simple for now and just retrieve all the required configs at startup..
+            foreach (var ruleset in rulesets.AvailableRulesets)
+            {
+                if (ruleset.ID == null)
+                    continue;
+
+                configCache[ruleset.ID.Value] = ruleset.CreateInstance().CreateConfig(realmFactory);
+            }
         }
 
         /// <summary>
@@ -34,7 +51,10 @@ namespace osu.Game.Rulesets
             if (ruleset.RulesetInfo.ID == null)
                 return null;
 
-            return configCache.GetOrAdd(ruleset.RulesetInfo.ID.Value, _ => ruleset.CreateConfig(settingsStore));
+            if (!configCache.TryGetValue(ruleset.RulesetInfo.ID.Value, out var config))
+                return null;
+
+            return config;
         }
 
         protected override void Dispose(bool isDisposing)