diff --git a/src/runmodes.c b/src/runmodes.c
index 2b29b3314c..c36dcf45ee 100644
--- a/src/runmodes.c
+++ b/src/runmodes.c
@@ -734,7 +734,7 @@ static void RunModeInitializeEveOutput(ConfNode *conf, OutputCtx *parent_ctx)
                 OutputInitResult result =
                     sub_module->InitSubFunc(sub_output_config, parent_ctx);
                 if (!result.ok || result.ctx == NULL) {
-                    continue;
+                    FatalError("unable to initialize sub-module %s", subname);
                 }
 
                 AddOutputToFreeList(sub_module, result.ctx);