diff --git a/makepanda/makewheel.py b/makepanda/makewheel.py
index f727f10e73..e490f1c05e 100644
--- a/makepanda/makewheel.py
+++ b/makepanda/makewheel.py
@@ -488,7 +488,10 @@ def makewheel(version, output_dir, platform=default_platform):
 
     # Write the panda3d tree.  We use a custom empty __init__ since the
     # default one adds the bin directory to the PATH, which we don't have.
-    whl.write_file_data('panda3d/__init__.py', '')
+    whl.write_file_data('panda3d/__init__.py', """"Python bindings for the Panda3D libraries"
+
+__version__ = '{0}'
+""".format(version))
 
     ext_suffix = GetExtensionSuffix()