diff --git a/server/src/mindustry/server/ServerControl.java b/server/src/mindustry/server/ServerControl.java
index 9886b96e83..6fadce6783 100644
--- a/server/src/mindustry/server/ServerControl.java
+++ b/server/src/mindustry/server/ServerControl.java
@@ -395,7 +395,7 @@ public class ServerControl implements ApplicationListener{
     }
 
     Jval readRulesFile(){
-        return JsonIO.json.fromJson(null, Jval.read(rulesFile.readString()).toString(Jformat.plain));
+        return JsonIO.json.fromJson(null, rulesFile);
     }
 
     void loadDataAssets(){