diff --git a/platform/uwp/detect.py b/platform/uwp/detect.py
index f25b9ba9cd4..c32a11b3961 100644
--- a/platform/uwp/detect.py
+++ b/platform/uwp/detect.py
@@ -29,7 +29,6 @@ def get_opts():
 
     return [
         ('msvc_version', 'MSVC version to use (ignored if the VCINSTALLDIR environment variable is set)', None),
-        BoolVariable('use_mingw', 'Use the MinGW compiler even if MSVC is installed (only used on Windows)', False),
     ]
 
 
diff --git a/platform/windows/detect.py b/platform/windows/detect.py
index 0662bc2edcb..9b07a7d4695 100644
--- a/platform/windows/detect.py
+++ b/platform/windows/detect.py
@@ -347,12 +347,12 @@ def configure(env):
         env['ENV']['TMP'] = os.environ['TMP']
 
     # First figure out which compiler, version, and target arch we're using
-    if os.getenv("VCINSTALLDIR"):
+    if os.getenv("VCINSTALLDIR") and not env["use_mingw"]:
         # Manual setup of MSVC
         setup_msvc_manual(env)
         env.msvc = True
         manual_msvc_config = True
-    elif env.get('MSVC_VERSION', ''):
+    elif env.get('MSVC_VERSION', '') and not env["use_mingw"]:
         setup_msvc_auto(env)
         env.msvc = True
         manual_msvc_config = False