diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index fd84d3e..69bdf41 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@ and this project adheres to [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/spec/v2.0.0
 ### Fixed
 
 - Don't rely on /tmp or $TMPDIR in tests.
+- Fix misleading message in version check.
 
 ## [1.2.1] - 2022-07-25
 
diff --git a/src/rt/ovni.c b/src/rt/ovni.c
index 67bb31b..d706dd0 100644
--- a/src/rt/ovni.c
+++ b/src/rt/ovni.c
@@ -39,16 +39,14 @@ void ovni_version_check_str(const char *version)
 
 	/* Match the major */
 	if (provided[0] != expected[0]) {
-		die("ovni major version mismatch: found %d (%s), expected %d (%s)",
-				provided[0], version,
-				expected[0], OVNI_LIB_VERSION);
+		die("incompatible ovni major version: wants %s, got %s",
+				version, OVNI_LIB_VERSION);
 	}
 
 	/* Only fail if the minor is newer */
 	if (provided[1] > expected[1]) {
-		die("ovni minor version too new: found %d (%s), expected %d (%s)",
-				provided[1], version,
-				expected[1], OVNI_LIB_VERSION);
+		die("incompatible ovni minor version: wants %s, got %s",
+				version, OVNI_LIB_VERSION);
 	}
 
 	/* Ignore the patch number */
diff --git a/test/emu/ovni/CMakeLists.txt b/test/emu/ovni/CMakeLists.txt
index df11ba6..513173a 100644
--- a/test/emu/ovni/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/test/emu/ovni/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@ test_emu(sort-first-and-full-ring.c SORT
 test_emu(burst-stats.c REGEX "burst stats: median/avg/max =  33/ 33/ 33 ns")
 test_emu(mp-simple.c MP)
 test_emu(version-good.c)
-test_emu(version-bad.c SHOULD_FAIL REGEX "version mismatch")
+test_emu(version-bad.c SHOULD_FAIL REGEX "incompatible .* version")
 test_emu(clockgate.c MP SHOULD_FAIL REGEX "detected large clock gate")
 test_emu(no-cpus.c SHOULD_FAIL REGEX "loom .* has no physical CPUs")
 test_emu(sort-cpus-by-loom.c MP)