diff --git a/osu.Game/Skinning/RulesetSkinProvidingContainer.cs b/osu.Game/Skinning/RulesetSkinProvidingContainer.cs
index abf5cb040a..cb8b0fb3c8 100644
--- a/osu.Game/Skinning/RulesetSkinProvidingContainer.cs
+++ b/osu.Game/Skinning/RulesetSkinProvidingContainer.cs
@@ -47,11 +47,11 @@ namespace osu.Game.Skinning
         protected override IReadOnlyDependencyContainer CreateChildDependencies(IReadOnlyDependencyContainer parent)
         {
             parentSource = parent.Get<ISkinSource>();
-
-            UpdateSkinSources();
-
             parentSource.SourceChanged += OnSourceChanged;
 
+            // ensure sources are populated and ready for use before childrens' asynchronous load flow.
+            UpdateSkinSources();
+
             return base.CreateChildDependencies(parent);
         }