diff --git a/libretro-common/include/compat/fopen_utf8.h b/libretro-common/include/compat/fopen_utf8.h
index 0c6d44d778..583b558a26 100644
--- a/libretro-common/include/compat/fopen_utf8.h
+++ b/libretro-common/include/compat/fopen_utf8.h
@@ -1,5 +1,9 @@
 #include <stdio.h>
 #ifdef _WIN32
-#define fopen fopen_utf8
+/* defined to error rather than fopen_utf8, to make clear to everyone reading the code that not worrying about utf16 is fine */
+/* TODO: enable */
+/* #define fopen (use fopen_utf8 instead) */
 FILE* fopen_utf8(const char * filename, const char * mode);
+#else
+#define fopen_utf8 fopen
 #endif