diff --git a/pkgs/applications/emulators/retroarch/cores.nix b/pkgs/applications/emulators/retroarch/cores.nix
index 2f055299adfe..d67ae6b5318e 100644
--- a/pkgs/applications/emulators/retroarch/cores.nix
+++ b/pkgs/applications/emulators/retroarch/cores.nix
@@ -301,7 +301,11 @@ in
     core = "citra";
     extraBuildInputs = [ libGLU libGL boost ffmpeg nasm ];
     makefile = "Makefile";
-    makeFlags = [ "HAVE_FFMPEG_STATIC=0" ];
+    makeFlags = [
+      "HAVE_FFMPEG_STATIC=0"
+      # https://github.com/libretro/citra/blob/1a66174355b5ed948de48ef13c0ed508b6d6169f/Makefile#L90
+      "BUILD_DATE=01/01/1970_00:00"
+    ];
     meta = {
       description = "Port of Citra to libretro";
       license = lib.licenses.gpl2Plus;