diff --git a/panda/src/device/inputDeviceManager.cxx b/panda/src/device/inputDeviceManager.cxx
index 140b4379f1..4bc69963eb 100644
--- a/panda/src/device/inputDeviceManager.cxx
+++ b/panda/src/device/inputDeviceManager.cxx
@@ -33,6 +33,8 @@ InputDeviceManager() : _lock("InputDeviceManager") {
  */
 void InputDeviceManager::
 make_global_ptr() {
+  init_libputil();
+
 #ifdef _WIN32
   _global_ptr = new WinInputDeviceManager;
 #elif defined(__APPLE__)