diff --git a/osu.Desktop/Program.cs b/osu.Desktop/Program.cs
index 18009417cb..47575ca208 100644
--- a/osu.Desktop/Program.cs
+++ b/osu.Desktop/Program.cs
@@ -10,6 +10,11 @@ using osu.Framework.Desktop.Platform;
 using osu.Framework.Platform;
 using osu.Game;
 using osu.Game.IPC;
+using osu.Game.Modes;
+using osu.Game.Modes.Catch;
+using osu.Game.Modes.Mania;
+using osu.Game.Modes.Osu;
+using osu.Game.Modes.Taiko;
 
 namespace osu.Desktop
 {
@@ -31,6 +36,11 @@ namespace osu.Desktop
                 }
                 else
                 {
+                    Ruleset.Register(new OsuRuleset());
+                    Ruleset.Register(new TaikoRuleset());
+                    Ruleset.Register(new ManiaRuleset());
+                    Ruleset.Register(new CatchRuleset());
+
                     BaseGame osu = new OsuGame(args);
                     host.Add(osu);
                     host.Run();
diff --git a/osu.Desktop/osu.Desktop.csproj b/osu.Desktop/osu.Desktop.csproj
index 28e591a558..95d3ad64c5 100644
--- a/osu.Desktop/osu.Desktop.csproj
+++ b/osu.Desktop/osu.Desktop.csproj
@@ -134,6 +134,18 @@
       <Project>{c92a607b-1fdd-4954-9f92-03ff547d9080}</Project>
       <Name>osu.Game.Modes.Osu</Name>
     </ProjectReference>
+    <ProjectReference Include="..\osu.Game.Modes.Catch\osu.Game.Modes.Catch.csproj">
+      <Project>{58f6c80c-1253-4a0e-a465-b8c85ebeadf3}</Project>
+      <Name>osu.Game.Modes.Catch</Name>
+    </ProjectReference>
+    <ProjectReference Include="..\osu.Game.Modes.Mania\osu.Game.Modes.Mania.csproj">
+      <Project>{48f4582b-7687-4621-9cbe-5c24197cb536}</Project>
+      <Name>osu.Game.Modes.Mania</Name>
+    </ProjectReference>
+    <ProjectReference Include="..\osu.Game.Modes.Taiko\osu.Game.Modes.Taiko.csproj">
+      <Project>{f167e17a-7de6-4af5-b920-a5112296c695}</Project>
+      <Name>osu.Game.Modes.Taiko</Name>
+    </ProjectReference>
     <ProjectReference Include="..\osu.Game\osu.Game.csproj">
       <Project>{0d3fbf8a-7464-4cf7-8c90-3e7886df2d4d}</Project>
       <Name>osu.Game</Name>
diff --git a/osu.Game.Mode.Osu/Objects/OsuBaseHit.cs b/osu.Game.Mode.Osu/Objects/OsuBaseHit.cs
index 81c9e0b4e9..0bd3d62d9e 100644
--- a/osu.Game.Mode.Osu/Objects/OsuBaseHit.cs
+++ b/osu.Game.Mode.Osu/Objects/OsuBaseHit.cs
@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@ namespace osu.Game.Modes.Osu.Objects
         public Vector2 Position { get; set; }
 
         [Flags]
-        private enum HitObjectType
+        internal enum HitObjectType
         {
             Circle = 1,
             Slider = 2,
@@ -25,35 +25,5 @@ namespace osu.Game.Modes.Osu.Objects
             Hold = 128,
             ManiaLong = 128,
         }
-
-        public static OsuBaseHit Parse(string val)
-        {
-            string[] split = val.Split(',');
-            var type = (HitObjectType)int.Parse(split[3]);
-            bool combo = type.HasFlag(HitObjectType.NewCombo);
-            type &= (HitObjectType)0xF;
-            type &= ~HitObjectType.NewCombo;
-            OsuBaseHit result;
-            switch (type)
-            {
-                case HitObjectType.Circle:
-                    result = new Circle();
-                    break;
-                case HitObjectType.Slider:
-                    result = new Slider();
-                    break;
-                case HitObjectType.Spinner:
-                    result = new Spinner();
-                    break;
-                default:
-                    throw new InvalidOperationException($@"Unknown hit object type {type}");
-            }
-            result.Position = new Vector2(int.Parse(split[0]), int.Parse(split[1]));
-            result.StartTime = double.Parse(split[2]);
-            result.Sample = new HitSampleInfo { Type = (SampleType)int.Parse(split[4]) };
-            result.NewCombo = combo;
-            // TODO: "addition" field
-            return result;
-        }
     }
 }
diff --git a/osu.Game.Mode.Osu/Objects/OsuHitObjectParser.cs b/osu.Game.Mode.Osu/Objects/OsuHitObjectParser.cs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..81c218e8e1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/osu.Game.Mode.Osu/Objects/OsuHitObjectParser.cs
@@ -0,0 +1,45 @@
+using System;
+using System.Collections.Generic;
+using System.Linq;
+using System.Text;
+using System.Threading.Tasks;
+using osu.Game.Beatmaps.Samples;
+using osu.Game.Modes.Objects;
+using OpenTK;
+
+namespace osu.Game.Modes.Osu.Objects
+{
+    public class OsuHitObjectParser : HitObjectParser
+    {
+        public override HitObject Parse(string text)
+        {
+            string[] split = text.Split(',');
+            var type = (OsuBaseHit.HitObjectType)int.Parse(split[3]);
+            bool combo = type.HasFlag(OsuBaseHit.HitObjectType.NewCombo);
+            type &= (OsuBaseHit.HitObjectType)0xF;
+            type &= ~OsuBaseHit.HitObjectType.NewCombo;
+            OsuBaseHit result;
+            switch (type)
+            {
+                case OsuBaseHit.HitObjectType.Circle:
+                    result = new Circle();
+                    break;
+                case OsuBaseHit.HitObjectType.Slider:
+                    result = new Slider();
+                    break;
+                case OsuBaseHit.HitObjectType.Spinner:
+                    result = new Spinner();
+                    break;
+                default:
+                    //throw new InvalidOperationException($@"Unknown hit object type {type}");
+                    return null;
+            }
+            result.Position = new Vector2(int.Parse(split[0]), int.Parse(split[1]));
+            result.StartTime = double.Parse(split[2]);
+            result.Sample = new HitSampleInfo { Type = (SampleType)int.Parse(split[4]) };
+            result.NewCombo = combo;
+            // TODO: "addition" field
+            return result;
+        }
+    }
+}
diff --git a/osu.Game.Mode.Osu/OsuRuleset.cs b/osu.Game.Mode.Osu/OsuRuleset.cs
index 666f51f041..4e8b8fde2b 100644
--- a/osu.Game.Mode.Osu/OsuRuleset.cs
+++ b/osu.Game.Mode.Osu/OsuRuleset.cs
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@
 
 using System.Collections.Generic;
 using osu.Game.Modes.Objects;
+using osu.Game.Modes.Osu.Objects;
 using osu.Game.Modes.Osu.UI;
 using osu.Game.Modes.UI;
 
@@ -13,5 +14,7 @@ namespace osu.Game.Modes.Osu
         public override ScoreOverlay CreateScoreOverlay() => new OsuScoreOverlay();
 
         public override HitRenderer CreateHitRendererWith(List<HitObject> objects) => new UI.OsuHitRenderer { Objects = objects };
+
+        public override HitObjectParser CreateHitObjectParser() => new OsuHitObjectParser();
     }
 }
diff --git a/osu.Game.Mode.Osu/osu.Game.Modes.Osu.csproj b/osu.Game.Mode.Osu/osu.Game.Modes.Osu.csproj
index 2c38463e9d..9a5668b35e 100644
--- a/osu.Game.Mode.Osu/osu.Game.Modes.Osu.csproj
+++ b/osu.Game.Mode.Osu/osu.Game.Modes.Osu.csproj
@@ -41,6 +41,7 @@
     <Reference Include="System.Xml" />
   </ItemGroup>
   <ItemGroup>
+    <Compile Include="Objects\OsuHitObjectParser.cs" />
     <Compile Include="UI\OsuComboCounter.cs" />
     <Compile Include="UI\OsuHitRenderer.cs" />
     <Compile Include="UI\OsuPlayfield.cs" />
diff --git a/osu.Game.Modes.Catch/CatchRuleset.cs b/osu.Game.Modes.Catch/CatchRuleset.cs
index 992d0fff59..5a55db5ede 100644
--- a/osu.Game.Modes.Catch/CatchRuleset.cs
+++ b/osu.Game.Modes.Catch/CatchRuleset.cs
@@ -4,15 +4,18 @@
 using System.Collections.Generic;
 using osu.Game.Modes.Catch.UI;
 using osu.Game.Modes.Objects;
+using osu.Game.Modes.Osu.Objects;
 using osu.Game.Modes.Osu.UI;
 using osu.Game.Modes.UI;
 
 namespace osu.Game.Modes.Catch
 {
-    class CatchRuleset : Ruleset
+    public class CatchRuleset : Ruleset
     {
         public override ScoreOverlay CreateScoreOverlay() => new OsuScoreOverlay();
 
         public override HitRenderer CreateHitRendererWith(List<HitObject> objects) => new CatchHitRenderer { Objects = objects };
+
+        public override HitObjectParser CreateHitObjectParser() => new OsuHitObjectParser();
     }
 }
diff --git a/osu.Game.Modes.Mania/ManiaRuleset.cs b/osu.Game.Modes.Mania/ManiaRuleset.cs
index 07f2545fd3..f92ce9ba1a 100644
--- a/osu.Game.Modes.Mania/ManiaRuleset.cs
+++ b/osu.Game.Modes.Mania/ManiaRuleset.cs
@@ -5,15 +5,18 @@ using System.Collections.Generic;
 using osu.Game.Modes.Mania.UI;
 using osu.Game.Modes.Objects;
 using osu.Game.Modes.Osu;
+using osu.Game.Modes.Osu.Objects;
 using osu.Game.Modes.Osu.UI;
 using osu.Game.Modes.UI;
 
 namespace osu.Game.Modes.Mania
 {
-    class ManiaRuleset : Ruleset
+    public class ManiaRuleset : Ruleset
     {
         public override ScoreOverlay CreateScoreOverlay() => new OsuScoreOverlay();
 
         public override HitRenderer CreateHitRendererWith(List<HitObject> objects) => new ManiaHitRenderer { Objects = objects };
+
+        public override HitObjectParser CreateHitObjectParser() => new OsuHitObjectParser();
     }
 }
diff --git a/osu.Game.Modes.Taiko/TaikoRuleset.cs b/osu.Game.Modes.Taiko/TaikoRuleset.cs
index f8322e32dc..a85c2c7a32 100644
--- a/osu.Game.Modes.Taiko/TaikoRuleset.cs
+++ b/osu.Game.Modes.Taiko/TaikoRuleset.cs
@@ -3,16 +3,19 @@
 
 using System.Collections.Generic;
 using osu.Game.Modes.Objects;
+using osu.Game.Modes.Osu.Objects;
 using osu.Game.Modes.Osu.UI;
 using osu.Game.Modes.Taiko.UI;
 using osu.Game.Modes.UI;
 
 namespace osu.Game.Modes.Taiko
 {
-    class TaikoRuleset : Ruleset
+    public class TaikoRuleset : Ruleset
     {
         public override ScoreOverlay CreateScoreOverlay() => new OsuScoreOverlay();
 
         public override HitRenderer CreateHitRendererWith(List<HitObject> objects) => new TaikoHitRenderer { Objects = objects };
+
+        public override HitObjectParser CreateHitObjectParser() => new OsuHitObjectParser();
     }
 }
diff --git a/osu.Game.Tests/Beatmaps/Formats/OsuLegacyDecoderTest.cs b/osu.Game.Tests/Beatmaps/Formats/OsuLegacyDecoderTest.cs
index db2e4b7d7e..90b62ef98a 100644
--- a/osu.Game.Tests/Beatmaps/Formats/OsuLegacyDecoderTest.cs
+++ b/osu.Game.Tests/Beatmaps/Formats/OsuLegacyDecoderTest.cs
@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@ using osu.Game.Beatmaps;
 using osu.Game.Beatmaps.Formats;
 using osu.Game.Beatmaps.Samples;
 using osu.Game.Modes;
+using osu.Game.Modes.Osu;
 using osu.Game.Modes.Osu.Objects;
 using osu.Game.Screens.Play;
 using osu.Game.Tests.Resources;
@@ -20,6 +21,7 @@ namespace osu.Game.Tests.Beatmaps.Formats
         public void SetUp()
         {
             OsuLegacyDecoder.Register();
+            Ruleset.Register(new OsuRuleset());
         }
 
        [Test]
         public void TestDecodeMetadata()
diff --git a/osu.Game.Tests/Beatmaps/IO/ImportBeatmapTest.cs b/osu.Game.Tests/Beatmaps/IO/ImportBeatmapTest.cs
index 0c53ef380c..7acbdbf3d9 100644
--- a/osu.Game.Tests/Beatmaps/IO/ImportBeatmapTest.cs
+++ b/osu.Game.Tests/Beatmaps/IO/ImportBeatmapTest.cs
@@ -9,6 +9,10 @@ using osu.Framework.Platform;
 using osu.Game.Database;
 using osu.Game.IPC;
 using osu.Game.Modes;
+using osu.Game.Modes.Catch;
+using osu.Game.Modes.Mania;
+using osu.Game.Modes.Osu;
+using osu.Game.Modes.Taiko;
 using osu.Game.Screens.Play;
 
 namespace osu.Game.Tests.Beatmaps.IO
@@ -21,6 +25,10 @@ namespace osu.Game.Tests.Beatmaps.IO
         [OneTimeSetUp]
         public void SetUp()
         {
+            Ruleset.Register(new OsuRuleset());
+            Ruleset.Register(new TaikoRuleset());
+            Ruleset.Register(new ManiaRuleset());
+            Ruleset.Register(new CatchRuleset());
         }
 
         [Test]
diff --git a/osu.Game.Tests/Beatmaps/IO/OszArchiveReaderTest.cs b/osu.Game.Tests/Beatmaps/IO/OszArchiveReaderTest.cs
index 8a0364a03b..1343ae7241 100644
--- a/osu.Game.Tests/Beatmaps/IO/OszArchiveReaderTest.cs
+++ b/osu.Game.Tests/Beatmaps/IO/OszArchiveReaderTest.cs
@@ -2,6 +2,8 @@
 using System.IO;
 using NUnit.Framework;
 using osu.Game.Beatmaps.IO;
+using osu.Game.Modes;
+using osu.Game.Modes.Osu;
 using osu.Game.Tests.Resources;
 
 namespace osu.Game.Tests.Beatmaps.IO
@@ -13,8 +15,9 @@ namespace osu.Game.Tests.Beatmaps.IO
         public void SetUp()
         {
             OszArchiveReader.Register();
+            Ruleset.Register(new OsuRuleset());
         }
-    
+
         [Test]
         public void TestReadBeatmaps()
         {
diff --git a/osu.Game.Tests/osu.Game.Tests.csproj b/osu.Game.Tests/osu.Game.Tests.csproj
index 646ee756d5..d59e90c2f4 100644
--- a/osu.Game.Tests/osu.Game.Tests.csproj
+++ b/osu.Game.Tests/osu.Game.Tests.csproj
@@ -70,6 +70,18 @@
       <Project>{c92a607b-1fdd-4954-9f92-03ff547d9080}</Project>
       <Name>osu.Game.Modes.Osu</Name>
     </ProjectReference>
+    <ProjectReference Include="..\osu.Game.Modes.Catch\osu.Game.Modes.Catch.csproj">
+      <Project>{58f6c80c-1253-4a0e-a465-b8c85ebeadf3}</Project>
+      <Name>osu.Game.Modes.Catch</Name>
+    </ProjectReference>
+    <ProjectReference Include="..\osu.Game.Modes.Mania\osu.Game.Modes.Mania.csproj">
+      <Project>{48f4582b-7687-4621-9cbe-5c24197cb536}</Project>
+      <Name>osu.Game.Modes.Mania</Name>
+    </ProjectReference>
+    <ProjectReference Include="..\osu.Game.Modes.Taiko\osu.Game.Modes.Taiko.csproj">
+      <Project>{f167e17a-7de6-4af5-b920-a5112296c695}</Project>
+      <Name>osu.Game.Modes.Taiko</Name>
+    </ProjectReference>
     <ProjectReference Include="..\osu.Game\osu.Game.csproj">
       <Project>{0D3FBF8A-7464-4CF7-8C90-3E7886DF2D4D}</Project>
       <Name>osu.Game</Name>
diff --git a/osu.Game/Beatmaps/Formats/BeatmapDecoder.cs b/osu.Game/Beatmaps/Formats/BeatmapDecoder.cs
index 7ff3dbac2b..b5dd0c995e 100644
--- a/osu.Game/Beatmaps/Formats/BeatmapDecoder.cs
+++ b/osu.Game/Beatmaps/Formats/BeatmapDecoder.cs
@@ -48,6 +48,8 @@ namespace osu.Game.Beatmaps.Formats
                 new Color4(121,9,13, 255),
             };
 
+            if (colours.Count == 0) return;
+
             int i = -1;
 
             foreach (HitObject h in b.HitObjects)
diff --git a/osu.Game/Beatmaps/Formats/OsuLegacyDecoder.cs b/osu.Game/Beatmaps/Formats/OsuLegacyDecoder.cs
index 2cf4e66927..5468e616f0 100644
--- a/osu.Game/Beatmaps/Formats/OsuLegacyDecoder.cs
+++ b/osu.Game/Beatmaps/Formats/OsuLegacyDecoder.cs
@@ -221,7 +221,9 @@ namespace osu.Game.Beatmaps.Formats
                     BaseDifficulty = new BaseDifficulty(),
                 },
             };
-            
+
+            HitObjectParser parser = null;
+
             var section = Section.None;
             string line;
             while (true)
@@ -233,14 +235,14 @@ namespace osu.Game.Beatmaps.Formats
                     continue;
                 if (line.StartsWith(@"osu file format v"))
                     continue;
-                    
+
                 if (line.StartsWith(@"[") && line.EndsWith(@"]"))
                 {
                     if (!Enum.TryParse(line.Substring(1, line.Length - 2), out section))
                         throw new InvalidDataException($@"Unknown osu section {line}");
                     continue;
                 }
-                
+
                 string val = line, key = null;
                 if (section != Section.Events && section != Section.TimingPoints && section != Section.HitObjects)
                 {
@@ -251,6 +253,7 @@ namespace osu.Game.Beatmaps.Formats
                 {
                     case Section.General:
                         handleGeneral(beatmap, key, val);
+                        parser = Ruleset.GetRuleset(beatmap.BeatmapInfo.Mode).CreateHitObjectParser();
                         break;
                     case Section.Editor:
                         handleEditor(beatmap, key, val);
@@ -271,13 +274,13 @@ namespace osu.Game.Beatmaps.Formats
                         handleColours(beatmap, key, val);
                         break;
                     case Section.HitObjects:
-                        var h = HitObject.Parse(beatmap.BeatmapInfo.Mode, val);
-                        if (h != null)
-                            beatmap.HitObjects.Add(h);
+                        var obj = parser?.Parse(val);
+                        if (obj != null)
+                            beatmap.HitObjects.Add(obj);
                         break;
                 }
             }
-            
+
             return beatmap;
         }
     }
diff --git a/osu.Game/Modes/Objects/HitObject.cs b/osu.Game/Modes/Objects/HitObject.cs
index 62c47d7059..abb88726b6 100644
--- a/osu.Game/Modes/Objects/HitObject.cs
+++ b/osu.Game/Modes/Objects/HitObject.cs
@@ -21,17 +21,5 @@ namespace osu.Game.Modes.Objects
         public double Duration => EndTime - StartTime;
 
         public HitSampleInfo Sample;
-
-        public static HitObject Parse(PlayMode mode, string val)
-        {
-            //TODO: move to modular HitObjectParser system rather than static parsing. (https://github.com/ppy/osu/pull/60/files#r83135780)
-            switch (mode)
-            {
-                case PlayMode.Osu:
-                    return null; //return OsuBaseHit.Parse(val);
-                default:
-                    return null;
-            }
-        }
     }
 }
diff --git a/osu.Game/Modes/Objects/HitObjectParser.cs b/osu.Game/Modes/Objects/HitObjectParser.cs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..261e92ff96
--- /dev/null
+++ b/osu.Game/Modes/Objects/HitObjectParser.cs
@@ -0,0 +1,16 @@
+//Copyright (c) 2007-2016 ppy Pty Ltd <contact@ppy.sh>.
+//Licensed under the MIT Licence - https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ppy/osu/master/LICENCE
+
+using System;
+using System.Collections.Generic;
+using System.Linq;
+using System.Text;
+using System.Threading.Tasks;
+
+namespace osu.Game.Modes.Objects
+{
+    public abstract class HitObjectParser
+    {
+        public abstract HitObject Parse(string text);
+    }
+}
diff --git a/osu.Game/Modes/Ruleset.cs b/osu.Game/Modes/Ruleset.cs
index 64a91f2108..7fc4b3221d 100644
--- a/osu.Game/Modes/Ruleset.cs
+++ b/osu.Game/Modes/Ruleset.cs
@@ -13,17 +13,19 @@ namespace osu.Game.Modes
 {
     public abstract class Ruleset
     {
+        private static List<Type> availableRulesets = new List<Type>();
+
         public abstract ScoreOverlay CreateScoreOverlay();
 
         public abstract HitRenderer CreateHitRendererWith(List<HitObject> objects);
 
+        public abstract HitObjectParser CreateHitObjectParser();
+
+        public static void Register(Ruleset ruleset) => availableRulesets.Add(ruleset.GetType());
+
         public static Ruleset GetRuleset(PlayMode mode)
         {
-            Type type = AppDomain.CurrentDomain
-                                .GetAssemblies()
-                                .Where(a => a.FullName.Contains($@"osu.Game.Modes.{mode}"))
-                                .SelectMany(a => a.GetTypes())
-                                .FirstOrDefault(t => t.Name == $@"{mode}Ruleset");
+            Type type = availableRulesets.FirstOrDefault(t => t.Name == $@"{mode}Ruleset");
 
             if (type == null)
                 return null;
diff --git a/osu.Game/osu.Game.csproj b/osu.Game/osu.Game.csproj
index ede412f27c..88f78b57be 100644
--- a/osu.Game/osu.Game.csproj
+++ b/osu.Game/osu.Game.csproj
@@ -63,6 +63,7 @@
     </Reference>
   </ItemGroup>
   <ItemGroup>
+    <Compile Include="Modes\Objects\HitObjectParser.cs" />
     <Compile Include="Overlays\DragBar.cs" />
     <Compile Include="Overlays\MusicController.cs" />
     <Compile Include="Beatmaps\Beatmap.cs" />