diff --git a/src/Metin2Launcher/Runtime/EnvVarKeyDelivery.cs b/src/Metin2Launcher/Runtime/EnvVarKeyDelivery.cs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..4034de7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/Metin2Launcher/Runtime/EnvVarKeyDelivery.cs
@@ -0,0 +1,30 @@
+using System.Diagnostics;
+
+namespace Metin2Launcher.Runtime;
+
+/// <summary>
+/// Delivers the runtime key to the game process via environment variables.
+/// This is the MVP mechanism — every platform supports it, no native interop,
+/// no timing windows. The variables are scoped to the child's environment only
+/// (we mutate <see cref="ProcessStartInfo.Environment"/>, not the launcher's
+/// global process environment), so other processes on the machine never see them.
+/// </summary>
+public sealed class EnvVarKeyDelivery : IRuntimeKeyDelivery
+{
+    public const string MasterKeyVar = "M2PACK_MASTER_KEY_HEX";
+    public const string SignPubkeyVar = "M2PACK_SIGN_PUBKEY_HEX";
+    public const string KeyIdVar      = "M2PACK_KEY_ID";
+
+    public string Name => "env-var";
+
+    public void Apply(ProcessStartInfo psi, RuntimeKey key)
+    {
+        if (psi is null) throw new ArgumentNullException(nameof(psi));
+        if (key is null) throw new ArgumentNullException(nameof(key));
+
+        // Never set these on the launcher process itself — scope them to the child only.
+        psi.Environment[MasterKeyVar] = key.MasterKeyHex;
+        psi.Environment[SignPubkeyVar] = key.SignPubkeyHex;
+        psi.Environment[KeyIdVar] = key.KeyId;
+    }
+}
diff --git a/src/Metin2Launcher/Runtime/IRuntimeKeyDelivery.cs b/src/Metin2Launcher/Runtime/IRuntimeKeyDelivery.cs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..bac6681
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/Metin2Launcher/Runtime/IRuntimeKeyDelivery.cs
@@ -0,0 +1,18 @@
+using System.Diagnostics;
+
+namespace Metin2Launcher.Runtime;
+
+/// <summary>
+/// Strategy for handing a <see cref="RuntimeKey"/> to the game process. The
+/// MVP implements a single strategy (<see cref="EnvVarKeyDelivery"/>) — the
+/// Windows shared-memory strategy is stubbed in <c>SharedMemoryKeyDelivery</c>
+/// and will be wired once the client-side receiver lands.
+/// </summary>
+public interface IRuntimeKeyDelivery
+{
+    /// <summary>Name of the delivery mechanism, used for logs and tests.</summary>
+    string Name { get; }
+
+    /// <summary>Mutates <paramref name="psi"/> so the spawned process can pick up the key.</summary>
+    void Apply(ProcessStartInfo psi, RuntimeKey key);
+}
diff --git a/src/Metin2Launcher/Runtime/RuntimeKey.cs b/src/Metin2Launcher/Runtime/RuntimeKey.cs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..25a214d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/Metin2Launcher/Runtime/RuntimeKey.cs
@@ -0,0 +1,76 @@
+using System.Text.Json;
+using System.Text.Json.Serialization;
+
+namespace Metin2Launcher.Runtime;
+
+/// <summary>
+/// In-memory representation of a runtime key bundle delivered alongside an
+/// m2pack release. The launcher never decrypts or opens .m2p archives itself;
+/// it merely parses the key bundle produced by the release tool and passes it
+/// through to the game executable via one of the <see cref="IRuntimeKeyDelivery"/>
+/// mechanisms.
+///
+/// File layout (runtime-key.json, placed next to the manifest by the release
+/// tool, never signed independently — its integrity comes from the signed
+/// manifest that references it):
+/// <code>
+/// {
+///   "key_id": "2026.04.14-1",
+///   "master_key_hex": "&lt;64 hex chars&gt;",
+///   "sign_pubkey_hex": "&lt;64 hex chars&gt;"
+/// }
+/// </code>
+/// </summary>
+public sealed class RuntimeKey
+{
+    [JsonPropertyName("key_id")]
+    public string KeyId { get; set; } = "";
+
+    [JsonPropertyName("master_key_hex")]
+    public string MasterKeyHex { get; set; } = "";
+
+    [JsonPropertyName("sign_pubkey_hex")]
+    public string SignPubkeyHex { get; set; } = "";
+
+    private static readonly JsonSerializerOptions _opts = new()
+    {
+        PropertyNameCaseInsensitive = false,
+    };
+
+    /// <summary>Parses a runtime-key.json blob. Throws on malformed or incomplete data.</summary>
+    public static RuntimeKey Parse(ReadOnlySpan<byte> raw)
+    {
+        var rk = JsonSerializer.Deserialize<RuntimeKey>(raw, _opts)
+                 ?? throw new InvalidDataException("runtime-key deserialized to null");
+        Validate(rk);
+        return rk;
+    }
+
+    public static RuntimeKey Load(string path)
+    {
+        var bytes = File.ReadAllBytes(path);
+        return Parse(bytes);
+    }
+
+    private static void Validate(RuntimeKey rk)
+    {
+        if (string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(rk.KeyId))
+            throw new InvalidDataException("runtime-key missing 'key_id'");
+        if (!IsHex(rk.MasterKeyHex, 64))
+            throw new InvalidDataException("runtime-key 'master_key_hex' must be 64 hex chars");
+        if (!IsHex(rk.SignPubkeyHex, 64))
+            throw new InvalidDataException("runtime-key 'sign_pubkey_hex' must be 64 hex chars");
+    }
+
+    private static bool IsHex(string s, int expectedLen)
+    {
+        if (s is null || s.Length != expectedLen) return false;
+        for (int i = 0; i < s.Length; i++)
+        {
+            char c = s[i];
+            bool ok = (c >= '0' && c <= '9') || (c >= 'a' && c <= 'f') || (c >= 'A' && c <= 'F');
+            if (!ok) return false;
+        }
+        return true;
+    }
+}
diff --git a/src/Metin2Launcher/Runtime/SharedMemoryKeyDelivery.cs b/src/Metin2Launcher/Runtime/SharedMemoryKeyDelivery.cs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..d4726dd
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/Metin2Launcher/Runtime/SharedMemoryKeyDelivery.cs
@@ -0,0 +1,39 @@
+using System.Diagnostics;
+
+namespace Metin2Launcher.Runtime;
+
+/// <summary>
+/// STUB. Windows shared-memory delivery for the runtime key is not implemented
+/// yet — the receiver on the client side has not landed. This type exists so
+/// the factory wiring in <see cref="Program"/> and the docs have a concrete
+/// name to reference, and so a future change can fill in the body without
+/// churning callers.
+///
+/// Planned implementation:
+///   1. Create a named, write-only <c>MemoryMappedFile</c> with a random suffix
+///      (e.g. <c>m2pack-key-&lt;guid&gt;</c>) and a <c>NamedPipeServerStream</c>-style
+///      ACL that only grants access to the child PID once it has been spawned.
+///   2. Write a short binary header (magic, key_id length, key_id, master_key,
+///      sign_pubkey) into the mapping.
+///   3. Set an env var on the child with the mapping name so the receiver can
+///      <c>OpenExisting</c> and read the key before zeroing the source.
+///   4. Zero and close the mapping from the launcher side once the child
+///      signals it has consumed the key (via <c>ClientAppliedReporter</c>).
+///
+/// Until then, calling <see cref="Apply"/> throws — the factory must never
+/// select this delivery on a non-Windows host, and on Windows the code path
+/// is guarded behind a feature flag that is off by default.
+/// </summary>
+public sealed class SharedMemoryKeyDelivery : IRuntimeKeyDelivery
+{
+    public string Name => "shared-memory";
+
+    public void Apply(ProcessStartInfo psi, RuntimeKey key)
+    {
+        // TODO(m2pack): implement Windows shared-memory delivery once the
+        // client-side receiver is in place. Tracked in docs/m2pack-integration.md.
+        throw new NotSupportedException(
+            "shared-memory runtime key delivery is not implemented yet; " +
+            "use EnvVarKeyDelivery for the MVP.");
+    }
+}