diff --git a/pkgs/by-name/sd/SDL_compat/package.nix b/pkgs/by-name/sd/SDL_compat/package.nix
index b0000e6602437..bdc63084a87e6 100644
--- a/pkgs/by-name/sd/SDL_compat/package.nix
+++ b/pkgs/by-name/sd/SDL_compat/package.nix
@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@
   libX11,
   mesa,
   pkg-config,
+  pkg-config-unwrapped,
   stdenv,
   # Boolean flags
   libGLSupported ? lib.elem stdenv.hostPlatform.system mesa.meta.platforms,
@@ -39,6 +40,9 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation (finalAttrs: {
       autoSignDarwinBinariesHook
     ];
 
+  # re-export PKG_CHECK_MODULES m4 macro used by sdl.m4
+  propagatedNativeBuildInputs = [ pkg-config-unwrapped ];
+
   buildInputs =
     [
       libX11