diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index f4ee389a6..30dd83065 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -172,6 +172,7 @@ The compiler is currently verified to compile on Linux, OpenBSD, Windows and Mac
 | ELF freestanding Aarch64 | No                            | Untested                | No          | No       | No       | Yes*       |
 | ELF freestanding Riscv64 | No                            | Untested                | No          | No       | No       | Untested   |
 | ELF freestanding Riscv32 | No                            | Untested                | No          | No       | No       | Untested   |
+| ELF freestanding Xtensa* | No                            | Untested                | No          | No       | No       | Untested   |
 | FreeBSD x86              | Untested                      | Untested                | No          | Yes      | Untested | Yes*       |
 | FreeBSD x64              | Untested                      | Untested                | No          | Yes      | Untested | Yes*       |
 | NetBSD x86               | Untested                      | Untested                | No          | Yes      | Untested | Yes*       |
@@ -184,7 +185,8 @@ The compiler is currently verified to compile on Linux, OpenBSD, Windows and Mac
 
 *\* Inline asm is still a work in progress*<br>
 *\* OpenBSD 7.7 is the only tested version*<br>
-*\* OpenBSD has limited stacktrace, needs to be tested further*
+*\* OpenBSD has limited stacktrace, needs to be tested further*<br>
+*\* Xtensa support is enabled by compiling with `-DXTENSA_ENABLE`. The [espressif llvm fork](https://github.com/espressif/llvm-project) is recommended for best compatibility*
 
 More platforms will be supported in the future.
 
diff --git a/releasenotes.md b/releasenotes.md
index 5a2943df9..f289fb7d0 100644
--- a/releasenotes.md
+++ b/releasenotes.md
@@ -15,6 +15,7 @@
 - Support `@param` directives for `...` parameters. #2578
 - Allow splatting of structs. #2555
 - Deprecate `--test-nocapture` in favour of `--test-show-output` #2588.
+- Xtensa target no longer enabled by default on LLVM 22, Compile with `-DXTENSA_ENABLE` to enable it instead
 
 ### Fixes
 - `Foo.is_eq` would return false if the type was a `typedef` and had an overload, but the underlying type was not comparable.
diff --git a/src/compiler/target.c b/src/compiler/target.c
index 166a0c35d..c21b83a55 100644
--- a/src/compiler/target.c
+++ b/src/compiler/target.c
@@ -1910,12 +1910,6 @@ INLINE const char *llvm_macos_target_triple(const char *triple)
   LLVMInitialize ## X ## TargetMC(); \
  } while(0)
 
-#if LLVM_VERSION_MAJOR > 21
-#define XTENSA_AVAILABLE 1
-#else
-#define XTENSA_AVAILABLE 0
-#endif
-
 void *llvm_target_machine_create(void)
 {
 	static bool llvm_initialized = false;
@@ -1923,11 +1917,9 @@ void *llvm_target_machine_create(void)
 	if (!llvm_initialized)
 	{
 		llvm_initialized = true;
-#if XTENSA_AVAILABLE
-#ifndef XTENSA_DISABLE
+#ifdef XTENSA_ENABLE
 		INITIALIZE_TARGET(Xtensa);
 #endif
-#endif
 #ifndef ARM_DISABLE
 		INITIALIZE_TARGET(ARM);
 #endif
@@ -1982,10 +1974,6 @@ void *llvm_target_machine_create(void)
 	return result;
 }
 
-#else
-
-#define XTENSA_AVAILABLE 1
-
 #endif
 
 
@@ -2144,10 +2132,12 @@ void target_setup(BuildTarget *target)
 		error_exit("Failed to find Windows def file: '%s' in path.", target->win.def);
 	}
 
-	if (target->arch_os_target == ELF_XTENSA && !XTENSA_AVAILABLE)
+#ifndef XTENSA_ENABLE
+	if (target->arch_os_target == ELF_XTENSA)
 	{
 		error_exit("Xtensa support is not available with this LLVM version.");
 	}
+#endif
 
 	compiler.platform.target_triple = arch_to_target_triple[target->arch_os_target];
 	ASSERT(compiler.platform.target_triple);