diff --git a/go/private/sdk.bzl b/go/private/sdk.bzl
index 308891af3..1294d6278 100644
--- a/go/private/sdk.bzl
+++ b/go/private/sdk.bzl
@@ -441,7 +441,10 @@ def _remote_sdk(ctx, urls, strip_prefix, sha256):
     # in Bazel 6.0.0+ (bazelbuild/bazel#16052). The only situation where
     # .zip files are needed seems to be a macOS host using a Windows toolchain
     # for remote execution.
-    if urls[0].endswith(".tar.gz"):
+    if (urls[0].endswith(".tar.gz") and
+        # Development versions of Bazel have an empty version string. We assume that they are
+        # more recent than the version that introduced the fix.
+        not versions.is_at_least("6.4.0", versions.get() or "6.4.0")):
         if strip_prefix != "go":
             fail("strip_prefix not supported")
         ctx.download(