diff --git a/osu.Android/OsuGameAndroid.cs b/osu.Android/OsuGameAndroid.cs
index a91c010809..84f215f930 100644
--- a/osu.Android/OsuGameAndroid.cs
+++ b/osu.Android/OsuGameAndroid.cs
@@ -30,11 +30,6 @@ namespace osu.Android
             }
         }
 
-        protected override void LoadComplete()
-        {
-            base.LoadComplete();
-
-            Add(new SimpleUpdateManager());
-        }
+        protected override UpdateManager CreateUpdateManager() => new SimpleUpdateManager();
     }
 }
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/osu.Desktop/OsuGameDesktop.cs b/osu.Desktop/OsuGameDesktop.cs
index f70cc24159..f05ee48914 100644
--- a/osu.Desktop/OsuGameDesktop.cs
+++ b/osu.Desktop/OsuGameDesktop.cs
@@ -47,20 +47,25 @@ namespace osu.Desktop
             return null;
         }
 
+        protected override UpdateManager CreateUpdateManager()
+        {
+            switch (RuntimeInfo.OS)
+            {
+                case RuntimeInfo.Platform.Windows:
+                    return new SquirrelUpdateManager();
+
+                default:
+                    return new SimpleUpdateManager();
+            }
+        }
+
         protected override void LoadComplete()
         {
             base.LoadComplete();
 
             if (!noVersionOverlay)
-            {
                 LoadComponentAsync(versionManager = new VersionManager { Depth = int.MinValue }, Add);
 
-                if (RuntimeInfo.OS == RuntimeInfo.Platform.Windows)
-                    Add(new SquirrelUpdateManager());
-                else
-                    Add(new SimpleUpdateManager());
-            }
-
             LoadComponentAsync(new DiscordRichPresence(), Add);
         }
 
diff --git a/osu.Game/OsuGame.cs b/osu.Game/OsuGame.cs
index 5781a7fbc4..50aefb4dd2 100644
--- a/osu.Game/OsuGame.cs
+++ b/osu.Game/OsuGame.cs
@@ -43,6 +43,7 @@ using osu.Game.Overlays.Volume;
 using osu.Game.Rulesets.Mods;
 using osu.Game.Scoring;
 using osu.Game.Screens.Select;
+using osu.Game.Updater;
 using osu.Game.Utils;
 using LogLevel = osu.Framework.Logging.LogLevel;
 
@@ -390,6 +391,8 @@ namespace osu.Game
 
         protected virtual Loader CreateLoader() => new Loader();
 
+        protected virtual UpdateManager CreateUpdateManager() => new UpdateManager();
+
         protected override Container CreateScalingContainer() => new ScalingContainer(ScalingMode.Everything);
 
         #region Beatmap progression
@@ -628,6 +631,7 @@ namespace osu.Game
             chatOverlay.State.ValueChanged += state => channelManager.HighPollRate.Value = state.NewValue == Visibility.Visible;
 
             Add(externalLinkOpener = new ExternalLinkOpener());
+            Add(CreateUpdateManager()); // dependency on notification overlay
 
             // side overlays which cancel each other.
             var singleDisplaySideOverlays = new OverlayContainer[] { Settings, notifications };
diff --git a/osu.Game/Updater/UpdateManager.cs b/osu.Game/Updater/UpdateManager.cs
index 48505a9891..28a295215f 100644
--- a/osu.Game/Updater/UpdateManager.cs
+++ b/osu.Game/Updater/UpdateManager.cs
@@ -34,12 +34,14 @@ namespace osu.Game.Updater
 
             if (game.IsDeployedBuild && version != lastVersion)
             {
-                config.Set(OsuSetting.Version, version);
-
                 // only show a notification if we've previously saved a version to the config file (ie. not the first run).
                 if (!string.IsNullOrEmpty(lastVersion))
                     Notifications.Post(new UpdateCompleteNotification(version));
             }
+
+            // debug / local compilations will reset to a non-release string.
+            // can be useful to check when an install has transitioned between release and otherwise (see OsuConfigManager's migrations).
+            config.Set(OsuSetting.Version, version);
         }
 
         private class UpdateCompleteNotification : SimpleNotification
diff --git a/osu.iOS/OsuGameIOS.cs b/osu.iOS/OsuGameIOS.cs
index e5ff4aec95..3a16f81530 100644
--- a/osu.iOS/OsuGameIOS.cs
+++ b/osu.iOS/OsuGameIOS.cs
@@ -11,12 +11,5 @@ namespace osu.iOS
     public class OsuGameIOS : OsuGame
     {
         public override Version AssemblyVersion => new Version(NSBundle.MainBundle.InfoDictionary["CFBundleVersion"].ToString());
-
-        protected override void LoadComplete()
-        {
-            base.LoadComplete();
-
-            Add(new UpdateManager());
-        }
     }
 }