diff --git a/pkgs/applications/emulators/retroarch/hashes.json b/pkgs/applications/emulators/retroarch/hashes.json
index 8f317553dd20..de195be76dbf 100644
--- a/pkgs/applications/emulators/retroarch/hashes.json
+++ b/pkgs/applications/emulators/retroarch/hashes.json
@@ -408,10 +408,11 @@
         "src": {
             "owner": "libretro",
             "repo": "mame",
-            "rev": "90714f5cdefb2024dc34fdf3a62bd0d3815460ce",
-            "hash": "sha256-5Fd57fLIEKxr5KaHywGyHgA29midWpWEFotvudQKtjs="
+            "rev": "3272473e69880675756547fc5896d0869ba14255",
+            "hash": "sha256-DWDPQM4YWuH4oH+03VmFs6yXN2dAKxc5zXSV42YbMyg=",
+            "fetchSubmodules": true
         },
-        "version": "unstable-2024-04-26"
+        "version": "unstable-2024-05-04"
     },
     "mame2000": {
         "fetcher": "fetchFromGitHub",
diff --git a/pkgs/applications/emulators/retroarch/update_cores.py b/pkgs/applications/emulators/retroarch/update_cores.py
index 3b4ee5f77692..4e15315ce726 100755
--- a/pkgs/applications/emulators/retroarch/update_cores.py
+++ b/pkgs/applications/emulators/retroarch/update_cores.py
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 #!/usr/bin/env nix-shell
-#!nix-shell -I nixpkgs=./ -i python3 -p "python3.withPackages (ps: with ps; [ ])" -p git -p nix-prefetch-github -p nix-prefetch-scripts
+#!nix-shell -I nixpkgs=./ -i python3 -p "python3.withPackages (ps: with ps; [ ])" -p git -p nix-prefetch-github -p nix-prefetch-git -p nix-prefetch-scripts
 
 import json
 import os
@@ -69,7 +69,11 @@ CORES = {
     "gw": {"repo": "gw-libretro"},
     "handy": {"repo": "libretro-handy"},
     "hatari": {"repo": "hatari"},
-    "mame": {"repo": "mame"},
+    # Setting fetch_submodules=True since libretro/mame constantly gives
+    # different hashes for its tarballs, see:
+    # - https://github.com/NixOS/nixpkgs/issues/259488#issuecomment-1751768379
+    # - https://github.com/NixOS/nixpkgs/pull/303494
+    "mame": {"repo": "mame", "fetch_submodules": True},
     "mame2000": {"repo": "mame2000-libretro"},
     "mame2003": {"repo": "mame2003-libretro"},
     "mame2003-plus": {"repo": "mame2003-plus-libretro"},