diff --git a/PKGBUILD b/PKGBUILD
index f24057109618b..b88bd34e0cbc0 100644
--- a/PKGBUILD
+++ b/PKGBUILD
@@ -35,6 +35,7 @@ sha256sums=(
 _PREFIX="/usr"
 prepare() {
 	cd "${srcdir}/nextpnr"
+	git submodule update --init
 	[ ! -d "${srcdir}/nextpnr/build-ice40" ] && mkdir build-ice40
 }
 
diff --git a/PKGBUILD.in b/PKGBUILD.in
index 3c6af878f38bc..7d1d33795556b 100644
--- a/PKGBUILD.in
+++ b/PKGBUILD.in
@@ -35,6 +35,7 @@ sha256sums=(
 _PREFIX="/usr"
 prepare() {
 	cd "${srcdir}/nextpnr"
+	git submodule update --init
 	[ ! -d "${srcdir}/nextpnr/build-ice40" ] && mkdir build-ice40
 }