diff --git a/.ci/deploy.sh b/.ci/deploy.sh
index 9e9515e78d996b01fd5d942c72714b58b3e3a891..20c30ce7baef54c688fcb3eed61e8d29a7447dea 100644
--- a/.ci/deploy.sh
+++ b/.ci/deploy.sh
@@ -17,9 +17,6 @@ else
     version="unstable";
 fi
 
-# build the unstable version - can be optimized
-git submodule update --recursive --init
-
 # add matomo
 sed -i "/matomohead/r./.ci/analytics/head.html" theme/templates/_index.html
 sed -i "/matomopolicy/r./.ci/analytics/policy.html" theme/templates/_index.html