diff --git a/src/core/game_list.cpp b/src/core/game_list.cpp
index d6f9334c7..aa0b829e2 100644
--- a/src/core/game_list.cpp
+++ b/src/core/game_list.cpp
@@ -93,7 +93,7 @@ static std::recursive_mutex s_mutex;
 static GameList::CacheMap s_cache_map;
 static std::unique_ptr<ByteStream> s_cache_write_stream;
 
-static bool m_game_list_loaded = false;
+static bool s_game_list_loaded = false;
 
 const char* GameList::GetEntryTypeName(EntryType type)
 {
@@ -111,7 +111,7 @@ const char* GameList::GetEntryTypeDisplayName(EntryType type)
 
 bool GameList::IsGameListLoaded()
 {
-  return m_game_list_loaded;
+  return s_game_list_loaded;
 }
 
 bool GameList::IsScannableFilename(const std::string_view& path)
@@ -610,7 +610,7 @@ u32 GameList::GetEntryCount()
 
 void GameList::Refresh(bool invalidate_cache, bool only_cache, ProgressCallback* progress /* = nullptr */)
 {
-  m_game_list_loaded = true;
+  s_game_list_loaded = true;
 
   if (!progress)
     progress = ProgressCallback::NullProgressCallback;
diff --git a/src/core/system.cpp b/src/core/system.cpp
index 669181dbb..e7025f158 100644
--- a/src/core/system.cpp
+++ b/src/core/system.cpp
@@ -4661,7 +4661,7 @@ void System::SetTimerResolutionIncreased(bool enabled)
 void System::UpdateSessionTime(const std::string& prev_serial)
 {
   const u64 ctime = Common::Timer::GetCurrentValue();
-  if (!prev_serial.empty())
+  if (!prev_serial.empty() && GameList::IsGameListLoaded())
   {
     // round up to seconds
     const std::time_t etime =