diff --git a/rpcs3/Emu/System.cpp b/rpcs3/Emu/System.cpp
index f088f7c742..192ba4ca11 100644
--- a/rpcs3/Emu/System.cpp
+++ b/rpcs3/Emu/System.cpp
@@ -265,14 +265,6 @@ void Emulator::Init()
 	g_cfg.from_default();
 	g_cfg.name.clear();
 
-	const std::string cfg_path = fs::get_config_dir() + "/config.yml";
-
-	// Save new global config if it doesn't exist or is empty
-	if (fs::stat_t info{}; !fs::stat(cfg_path, info) || info.size == 0)
-	{
-		Emulator::SaveSettings(g_cfg.to_string(), {});
-	}
-
 	// Not all renderers are known at compile time, so set a provided default if possible
 	if (m_default_renderer == video_renderer::vulkan && !m_default_graphics_adapter.empty())
 	{
@@ -282,6 +274,14 @@ void Emulator::Init()
 
 	g_cfg_defaults = g_cfg.to_string();
 
+	const std::string cfg_path = fs::get_config_dir() + "/config.yml";
+
+	// Save new global config if it doesn't exist or is empty
+	if (fs::stat_t info{}; !fs::stat(cfg_path, info) || info.size == 0)
+	{
+		Emulator::SaveSettings(g_cfg_defaults, {});
+	}
+
 	// Load VFS config
 	g_cfg_vfs.load();
 	sys_log.notice("Using VFS config:\n%s", g_cfg_vfs.to_string());