diff --git a/pkgs/games/cataclysm-dda/git.nix b/pkgs/games/cataclysm-dda/git.nix
index 785cf91c8f2a..d1d1b4c54d4e 100644
--- a/pkgs/games/cataclysm-dda/git.nix
+++ b/pkgs/games/cataclysm-dda/git.nix
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 { fetchFromGitHub, stdenv, pkgconfig, ncurses, lua, SDL2, SDL2_image, SDL2_ttf,
 SDL2_mixer, freetype, gettext, CoreFoundation, Cocoa,
-tiles ? true }:
+tiles ? true, debug ? false }:
 
 stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
   version = "2018-07-15";
@@ -31,7 +31,6 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
   makeFlags = with stdenv.lib; [
     "PREFIX=$(out)"
     "LUA=1"
-    "RELEASE=1"
     "USE_HOME_DIR=1"
     "LANGUAGES=all"
     "VERSION=git-${version}-${substring 0 8 src.rev}"
@@ -41,6 +40,8 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
   ] ++ optionals stdenv.isDarwin [
     "NATIVE=osx"
     "CLANG=1"
+  ] ++ optionals (! debug) [
+    "RELEASE=1"
   ];
 
   postInstall = with stdenv.lib; optionalString (tiles && !stdenv.isDarwin) ''
@@ -64,6 +65,8 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
   # make: *** [Makefile:687: obj/tiles/weather_data.o] Error 1
   enableParallelBuilding = false;
 
+  dontStrip = debug;
+
   meta = with stdenv.lib; {
     description = "A free, post apocalyptic, zombie infested rogue-like";
     longDescription = ''