diff --git a/src/xenia/base/mutex.cc b/src/xenia/base/mutex.cc
index b975e4bc3..4fc37de9b 100644
--- a/src/xenia/base/mutex.cc
+++ b/src/xenia/base/mutex.cc
@@ -65,9 +65,9 @@ bool xe_fast_mutex::try_lock() {
   return TryEnterCriticalSection(fast_crit(this));
 }
 #endif
-// chrispy: moved this out of body of function to eliminate the initialization
-// guards
-static global_mutex_type global_mutex;
-global_mutex_type& global_critical_region::mutex() { return global_mutex; }
+global_mutex_type& global_critical_region::mutex() {
+  static global_mutex_type global_mutex;
+  return global_mutex;
+}
 
 }  // namespace xe