diff --git a/genesis/__init__.py b/genesis/__init__.py
index 3361a0125d..3025c96ee4 100644
--- a/genesis/__init__.py
+++ b/genesis/__init__.py
@@ -134,7 +134,7 @@ def init(
 
     # Configure Quadrants fast cache and array type
     global use_ndarray, use_fastcache, use_zerocopy
-    is_ndarray_disabled = os.environ.get("GS_ENABLE_NDARRAY", "1") == "0"
+    is_ndarray_disabled = os.environ.get("GS_ENABLE_NDARRAY", "0") == "0"
     if use_ndarray is None:
         _use_ndarray = not (is_ndarray_disabled or performance_mode)
     else: