diff --git a/rosbag2_py/src/rosbag2_py/_transport.cpp b/rosbag2_py/src/rosbag2_py/_transport.cpp
index 42aabab52..b50f6a47f 100644
--- a/rosbag2_py/src/rosbag2_py/_transport.cpp
+++ b/rosbag2_py/src/rosbag2_py/_transport.cpp
@@ -254,9 +254,10 @@ class Player
   {
     install_signal_handlers();
     try {
-      std::vector<rosbag2_transport::Player::ReaderStorageOptionsPair> readers{};
+      std::vector<rosbag2_transport::Player::ReaderStorageOptionsPair> readers_with_options{};
       for (const auto & options : storage_options) {
-        readers.emplace_back(rosbag2_transport::ReaderWriterFactory::make_reader(options), options);
+        readers_with_options.emplace_back(
+          rosbag2_transport::ReaderWriterFactory::make_reader(options), options);
       }
       std::shared_ptr<KeyboardHandler> keyboard_handler;
       if (!play_options.disable_keyboard_controls) {
@@ -270,7 +271,7 @@ class Player
 #endif
       }
       auto player = std::make_shared<rosbag2_transport::Player>(
-        std::move(readers), std::move(keyboard_handler), play_options);
+        std::move(readers_with_options), std::move(keyboard_handler), play_options);
 
       rclcpp::executors::SingleThreadedExecutor exec;
       exec.add_node(player);
diff --git a/rosbag2_transport/src/rosbag2_transport/player.cpp b/rosbag2_transport/src/rosbag2_transport/player.cpp
index 9b613c207..a2e5b452a 100644
--- a/rosbag2_transport/src/rosbag2_transport/player.cpp
+++ b/rosbag2_transport/src/rosbag2_transport/player.cpp
@@ -283,9 +283,7 @@ class PlayerImpl
   rosbag2_storage::SerializedBagMessageSharedPtr peek_next_message_from_queue();
   void load_storage_content();
   bool is_storage_completely_loaded() const;
-  void enqueue_up_to_boundary(
-    const size_t boundary,
-    const size_t bag_index) RCPPUTILS_TSA_REQUIRES(reader_mutex_);
+  void enqueue_up_to_boundary(const size_t boundary) RCPPUTILS_TSA_REQUIRES(reader_mutex_);
   void wait_for_filled_queue() const;
   void play_messages_from_queue();
   void prepare_publishers();
@@ -904,7 +902,8 @@ Player::callback_handle_t PlayerImpl::get_new_on_play_msg_callback_handle()
 
 void PlayerImpl::wait_for_filled_queue() const
 {
-  const auto read_ahead_queues_filled = [this]() -> bool {
+  const auto read_ahead_queues_filled =
+    [this]() {
       for (std::size_t i = 0; i < input_bags_.size(); i++) {
         if (message_queue_.size_approx(i) < play_options_.read_ahead_queue_size) {
           return false;
@@ -922,9 +921,10 @@ void PlayerImpl::wait_for_filled_queue() const
 
 void PlayerImpl::load_storage_content()
 {
-  auto queue_lower_boundary =
-    static_cast<size_t>(play_options_.read_ahead_queue_size * read_ahead_lower_bound_percentage_);
-  auto queue_upper_boundary = play_options_.read_ahead_queue_size;
+  // Multiply the boundary parameters by the number of input bags
+  auto queue_lower_boundary = static_cast<size_t>(
+    input_bags_.size() * play_options_.read_ahead_queue_size * read_ahead_lower_bound_percentage_);
+  auto queue_upper_boundary = input_bags_.size() * play_options_.read_ahead_queue_size;
 
   while (rclcpp::ok() && load_storage_content_ && !stop_playback_) {
     rcpputils::unique_lock lk(reader_mutex_);
@@ -935,30 +935,28 @@ void PlayerImpl::load_storage_content()
     if (no_messages) {
       break;
     }
-    for (size_t bag_index = 0; bag_index < input_bags_.size(); bag_index++) {
-      if (!input_bags_[bag_index].first->has_next()) {
-        continue;
-      }
-
-      if (message_queue_.size_approx(bag_index) < queue_lower_boundary) {
-        enqueue_up_to_boundary(queue_upper_boundary, bag_index);
-      } else {
-        lk.unlock();
-      }
+    if (message_queue_.size_approx() < queue_lower_boundary) {
+      enqueue_up_to_boundary(queue_upper_boundary);
+    } else {
+      lk.unlock();
+      std::this_thread::sleep_for(std::chrono::milliseconds(1));
     }
-    std::this_thread::sleep_for(std::chrono::milliseconds(1));
   }
 }
 
-void PlayerImpl::enqueue_up_to_boundary(const size_t boundary, const size_t bag_index)
+void PlayerImpl::enqueue_up_to_boundary(const size_t boundary)
 {
   rosbag2_storage::SerializedBagMessageSharedPtr message;
-  for (size_t i = message_queue_.size_approx(bag_index); i < boundary; i++) {
-    if (!input_bags_[bag_index].first->has_next()) {
-      break;
+  // Read messages from input bags in a round robin way
+  size_t input_bag_index = 0u;
+  for (size_t i = message_queue_.size_approx(); i < boundary; i++) {
+    const auto & reader = input_bags_[input_bag_index].first;
+    // We are supposed to have at least one bag with messages to read
+    if (reader->has_next()) {
+      message = reader->read_next();
+      message_queue_.enqueue(message, input_bag_index);
     }
-    message = input_bags_[bag_index].first->read_next();
-    message_queue_.enqueue(message, bag_index);
+    input_bag_index = (input_bag_index + 1) % input_bags_.size();
   }
 }
 
@@ -1132,6 +1130,7 @@ void PlayerImpl::prepare_publishers()
   }
 
   // Create topic publishers
+  // We could have duplicate topic names here, but we correctly handle it when creating publishers
   std::vector<rosbag2_storage::TopicMetadata> topics{};
   for (const auto & [reader, _] : input_bags_) {
     auto bag_topics = reader->get_all_topics_and_types();