diff --git a/engines/sci/engine/vm.cpp b/engines/sci/engine/vm.cpp
index eaf6d2e1260..a7f26419c88 100644
--- a/engines/sci/engine/vm.cpp
+++ b/engines/sci/engine/vm.cpp
@@ -207,10 +207,17 @@ static reg_t validate_read_var(reg_t *r, reg_t *stack_base, int type, int max, i
 				//  We need to find correct replacements for each situation manually
 				SciTrackOriginReply originReply;
 				SciWorkaroundSolution solution = trackOriginAndFindWorkaround(index, uninitializedReadWorkarounds, &originReply);
-				if (solution.type == WORKAROUND_NONE)
+				if (solution.type == WORKAROUND_NONE) {
+#ifdef RELEASE_BUILD
+					// If we are running an official ScummVM release -> fake 0 in unknown cases
+					r[index] = NULL_REG;
+					break;
+#else
 					error("Uninitialized read for temp %d from method %s::%s (script %d, room %d, localCall %x)", 
 					index, originReply.objectName.c_str(), originReply.methodName.c_str(), originReply.scriptNr, 
 					g_sci->getEngineState()->currentRoomNumber(), originReply.localCallOffset);
+#endif
+				}
 				assert(solution.type == WORKAROUND_FAKE);
 				r[index] = make_reg(0, solution.value);
 				break;