diff --git a/lib/core/config.js b/lib/core/config.js
index e23f444ea..55e20ad1f 100644
--- a/lib/core/config.js
+++ b/lib/core/config.js
@@ -75,6 +75,8 @@ Config.prototype._mergeConfig = function(configFilePath, defaultConfig, env, ena
     return configToReturn;
   }
 
+  // due to embark.json; TODO: refactor this
+  configFilePath = configFilePath.replace('.js', '').replace('.json','');
   if (!fs.existsSync(configFilePath + '.js') && !fs.existsSync(configFilePath + '.json')) {
     // TODO: remove this if
     if (this.logger) {