diff --git a/src/core/util.c b/src/core/util.c
index a3a799caa..d596ea4c9 100644
--- a/src/core/util.c
+++ b/src/core/util.c
@@ -470,7 +470,9 @@ meta_fatal (const char *format, ...)
   gchar *str;
   FILE *out;
 
-  g_return_if_fail (format != NULL);
+  g_warn_if_fail (format);
+  if (!format)
+    meta_exit (META_EXIT_ERROR);
 
   va_start (args, format);
   str = g_strdup_vprintf (format, args);
diff --git a/src/meta/util.h b/src/meta/util.h
index 8de831bf6..3619e8adb 100644
--- a/src/meta/util.h
+++ b/src/meta/util.h
@@ -43,7 +43,7 @@ void meta_bug        (const char *format,
 void meta_warning    (const char *format,
                       ...) G_GNUC_PRINTF (1, 2);
 void meta_fatal      (const char *format,
-                      ...) G_GNUC_PRINTF (1, 2);
+                      ...) G_GNUC_PRINTF (1, 2) G_GNUC_NORETURN G_ANALYZER_NORETURN;
 
 /**
  * MetaDebugTopic: