diff --git a/osu.Game/Beatmaps/Drawables/DifficultySpectrumDisplay.cs b/osu.Game/Beatmaps/Drawables/DifficultySpectrumDisplay.cs
index 1feaa88350..f4501f0633 100644
--- a/osu.Game/Beatmaps/Drawables/DifficultySpectrumDisplay.cs
+++ b/osu.Game/Beatmaps/Drawables/DifficultySpectrumDisplay.cs
@@ -117,7 +117,7 @@ namespace osu.Game.Beatmaps.Drawables
                 Spacing = new Vector2(1, 0);
                 Direction = FillDirection.Horizontal;
 
-                var icon = rulesets.GetRuleset(rulesetId)?.CreateInstance()?.CreateIcon() ?? new SpriteIcon { Icon = FontAwesome.Regular.QuestionCircle };
+                var icon = rulesets.GetRuleset(rulesetId)?.CreateInstance().CreateIcon() ?? new SpriteIcon { Icon = FontAwesome.Regular.QuestionCircle };
                 Add(icon.With(i =>
                 {
                     i.Size = new Vector2(14);
diff --git a/osu.Game/Models/RealmRuleset.cs b/osu.Game/Models/RealmRuleset.cs
index 5d70324713..5c18a10527 100644
--- a/osu.Game/Models/RealmRuleset.cs
+++ b/osu.Game/Models/RealmRuleset.cs
@@ -60,5 +60,27 @@ namespace osu.Game.Models
             InstantiationInfo = InstantiationInfo,
             Available = Available
         };
+
+        public Ruleset CreateInstance()
+        {
+            if (!Available)
+                throw new RulesetLoadException(@"Ruleset not available");
+
+            var type = Type.GetType(InstantiationInfo);
+
+            if (type == null)
+                throw new RulesetLoadException(@"Type lookup failure");
+
+            var ruleset = Activator.CreateInstance(type) as Ruleset;
+
+            if (ruleset == null)
+                throw new RulesetLoadException(@"Instantiation failure");
+
+            // overwrite the pre-populated RulesetInfo with a potentially database attached copy.
+            // TODO: figure if we still want/need this after switching to realm.
+            // ruleset.RulesetInfo = this;
+
+            return ruleset;
+        }
     }
 }
diff --git a/osu.Game/Overlays/Settings/Sections/Input/RulesetBindingsSection.cs b/osu.Game/Overlays/Settings/Sections/Input/RulesetBindingsSection.cs
index 48cbe1b59e..b5d26d4887 100644
--- a/osu.Game/Overlays/Settings/Sections/Input/RulesetBindingsSection.cs
+++ b/osu.Game/Overlays/Settings/Sections/Input/RulesetBindingsSection.cs
@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@ namespace osu.Game.Overlays.Settings.Sections.Input
 {
     public class RulesetBindingsSection : SettingsSection
     {
-        public override Drawable CreateIcon() => ruleset?.CreateInstance()?.CreateIcon() ?? new SpriteIcon
+        public override Drawable CreateIcon() => ruleset?.CreateInstance().CreateIcon() ?? new SpriteIcon
         {
             Icon = OsuIcon.Hot
         };
diff --git a/osu.Game/Rulesets/IRulesetInfo.cs b/osu.Game/Rulesets/IRulesetInfo.cs
index c3bc6c1995..4e529a73fb 100644
--- a/osu.Game/Rulesets/IRulesetInfo.cs
+++ b/osu.Game/Rulesets/IRulesetInfo.cs
@@ -1,7 +1,6 @@
 // Copyright (c) ppy Pty Ltd <contact@ppy.sh>. Licensed under the MIT Licence.
 // See the LICENCE file in the repository root for full licence text.
 
-using System;
 using osu.Game.Database;
 
 #nullable enable
@@ -28,20 +27,6 @@ namespace osu.Game.Rulesets
         /// </summary>
         string InstantiationInfo { get; }
 
-        Ruleset? CreateInstance()
-        {
-            var type = Type.GetType(InstantiationInfo);
-
-            if (type == null)
-                return null;
-
-            var ruleset = Activator.CreateInstance(type) as Ruleset;
-
-            // overwrite the pre-populated RulesetInfo with a potentially database attached copy.
-            // TODO: figure if we still want/need this after switching to realm.
-            // ruleset.RulesetInfo = this;
-
-            return ruleset;
-        }
+        Ruleset CreateInstance();
     }
 }
diff --git a/osu.Game/Rulesets/RulesetInfo.cs b/osu.Game/Rulesets/RulesetInfo.cs
index ccb614fe91..77be39650f 100644
--- a/osu.Game/Rulesets/RulesetInfo.cs
+++ b/osu.Game/Rulesets/RulesetInfo.cs
@@ -4,7 +4,6 @@
 using System;
 using System.Diagnostics.CodeAnalysis;
 using Newtonsoft.Json;
-using osu.Framework.Extensions.ObjectExtensions;
 using osu.Framework.Testing;
 
 namespace osu.Game.Rulesets
@@ -26,9 +25,18 @@ namespace osu.Game.Rulesets
         // TODO: this should probably be moved to RulesetStore.
         public Ruleset CreateInstance()
         {
-            if (!Available) return null;
+            if (!Available)
+                throw new RulesetLoadException(@"Ruleset not available");
 
-            var ruleset = (Ruleset)Activator.CreateInstance(Type.GetType(InstantiationInfo).AsNonNull());
+            var type = Type.GetType(InstantiationInfo);
+
+            if (type == null)
+                throw new RulesetLoadException(@"Type lookup failure");
+
+            var ruleset = Activator.CreateInstance(type) as Ruleset;
+
+            if (ruleset == null)
+                throw new RulesetLoadException(@"Instantiation failure");
 
             // overwrite the pre-populated RulesetInfo with a potentially database attached copy.
             ruleset.RulesetInfo = this;
diff --git a/osu.Game/Screens/Edit/Setup/SetupScreen.cs b/osu.Game/Screens/Edit/Setup/SetupScreen.cs
index 04767f1786..8d726f7752 100644
--- a/osu.Game/Screens/Edit/Setup/SetupScreen.cs
+++ b/osu.Game/Screens/Edit/Setup/SetupScreen.cs
@@ -33,7 +33,7 @@ namespace osu.Game.Screens.Edit.Setup
                 new DesignSection(),
             };
 
-            var rulesetSpecificSection = beatmap.BeatmapInfo.Ruleset?.CreateInstance()?.CreateEditorSetupSection();
+            var rulesetSpecificSection = beatmap.BeatmapInfo.Ruleset?.CreateInstance().CreateEditorSetupSection();
             if (rulesetSpecificSection != null)
                 sectionsEnumerable.Add(rulesetSpecificSection);
 
diff --git a/osu.Game/Screens/Edit/Verify/IssueList.cs b/osu.Game/Screens/Edit/Verify/IssueList.cs
index 0b1f988447..fd238feeac 100644
--- a/osu.Game/Screens/Edit/Verify/IssueList.cs
+++ b/osu.Game/Screens/Edit/Verify/IssueList.cs
@@ -43,7 +43,7 @@ namespace osu.Game.Screens.Edit.Verify
         private void load(OverlayColourProvider colours)
         {
             generalVerifier = new BeatmapVerifier();
-            rulesetVerifier = beatmap.BeatmapInfo.Ruleset?.CreateInstance()?.CreateBeatmapVerifier();
+            rulesetVerifier = beatmap.BeatmapInfo.Ruleset?.CreateInstance().CreateBeatmapVerifier();
 
             context = new BeatmapVerifierContext(beatmap, workingBeatmap.Value, verify.InterpretedDifficulty.Value);
             verify.InterpretedDifficulty.BindValueChanged(difficulty => context.InterpretedDifficulty = difficulty.NewValue);
diff --git a/osu.Game/Stores/BeatmapImporter.cs b/osu.Game/Stores/BeatmapImporter.cs
index 32f0cd3d7a..8ab6941885 100644
--- a/osu.Game/Stores/BeatmapImporter.cs
+++ b/osu.Game/Stores/BeatmapImporter.cs
@@ -282,9 +282,6 @@ namespace osu.Game.Stores
         {
             var rulesetInstance = ((IRulesetInfo)beatmap.Ruleset).CreateInstance();
 
-            if (rulesetInstance == null)
-                return;
-
             decoded.BeatmapInfo.Ruleset = rulesetInstance.RulesetInfo;
 
             // TODO: this should be done in a better place once we actually need to dynamically update it.