diff --git a/src/libretro/Makefile b/src/libretro/Makefile
index a3d942aa..63875d65 100644
--- a/src/libretro/Makefile
+++ b/src/libretro/Makefile
@@ -515,8 +515,8 @@ else ifneq (,$(findstring windows_msvc2017,$(platform)))
 # Windows
 else
 	TARGET := $(TARGET_NAME)_libretro.dll
-	CC = gcc
-	CXX = g++
+	CC ?= gcc
+	CXX ?= g++
 	SHARED := -shared -static-libgcc -static-libstdc++ -Wl,-no-undefined -Wl,-version-script=$(LIBRETRO_DIR)/link.T
 	TILED_RENDERING=1
 endif