diff --git a/CMakeLists.txt b/CMakeLists.txt
index 67e38dc97..073c4927e 100644
--- a/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -38,7 +38,10 @@ option(USE_PDB_DEBUGINFO "Builds debug info in PDB format" FALSE)
 set (X86_32_TOOLCHAIN_FILE "${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/toolchain_x86_32.cmake" CACHE FILEPATH "Toolchain file for the (cross-)compiler targeting i686")
 set (X86_64_TOOLCHAIN_FILE "${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/toolchain_x86_64.cmake" CACHE FILEPATH "Toolchain file for the (cross-)compiler targeting x86_64")
 set (X86_DEV_ROOTFS "/" CACHE FILEPATH "Path to the sysroot used for cross-compiling for i686 and x86_64")
-set (DATA_DIRECTORY "${CMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX}/share/fex-emu" CACHE PATH "global data directory")
+set (DATA_DIRECTORY "" CACHE PATH "Global data directory (override)")
+if (NOT DATA_DIRECTORY)
+  set (DATA_DIRECTORY "${CMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX}/share/fex-emu")
+endif()
 
 string(FIND ${CMAKE_BASE_NAME} mingw CONTAINS_MINGW)
 if (NOT CONTAINS_MINGW EQUAL -1)
diff --git a/ThunkLibs/GuestLibs/CMakeLists.txt b/ThunkLibs/GuestLibs/CMakeLists.txt
index 5175e12fb..42348c66e 100644
--- a/ThunkLibs/GuestLibs/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/ThunkLibs/GuestLibs/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -24,7 +24,10 @@ if (CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR STREQUAL CMAKE_SOURCE_DIR)
   set(CMAKE_CXX_STANDARD 20)
 
   # This gets passed in from the main cmake project
-  set (DATA_DIRECTORY "${CMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX}/share/fex-emu" CACHE PATH "global data directory")
+  set (DATA_DIRECTORY "" CACHE PATH "Global data directory (override)")
+  if (NOT DATA_DIRECTORY)
+    set (DATA_DIRECTORY "${CMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX}/share/fex-emu")
+  endif()
 
   set(TARGET_TYPE SHARED)
   set(GENERATE_GUEST_INSTALL_TARGETS TRUE)
diff --git a/ThunkLibs/HostLibs/CMakeLists.txt b/ThunkLibs/HostLibs/CMakeLists.txt
index 143e84677..baddf1748 100644
--- a/ThunkLibs/HostLibs/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/ThunkLibs/HostLibs/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -4,7 +4,10 @@ include(${FEX_PROJECT_SOURCE_DIR}/CMakeFiles/version_to_variables.cmake)
 include(GNUInstallDirs)
 
 set(CMAKE_CXX_STANDARD 20)
-set (HOSTLIBS_DATA_DIRECTORY "${CMAKE_INSTALL_FULL_LIBDIR}/fex-emu" CACHE PATH "global data directory")
+set (HOSTLIBS_DATA_DIRECTORY "" CACHE PATH "Global data directory (override)")
+if (NOT HOSTLIBS_DATA_DIRECTORY)
+  set(HOSTLIBS_DATA_DIRECTORY "${CMAKE_INSTALL_FULL_LIBDIR}/fex-emu")
+endif()
 option(ENABLE_CLANG_THUNKS "Enable building thunks with clang" FALSE)
 
 if (ENABLE_CLANG_THUNKS)