diff --git a/.github/workflows/ci.yml b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
index 7cc5874184..65c2c76242 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/ci.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
@@ -202,7 +202,6 @@ jobs:
         if: ${{ steps.yarn-lock.outcome == 'success' }}
         run: yarn backstage-cli repo test --maxWorkers=2 --workerIdleMemoryLimit=1300M --since origin/master
         env:
-          BACKSTAGE_NEXT_TESTS: 1
           BACKSTAGE_TEST_DISABLE_DOCKER: 1
           BACKSTAGE_TEST_DATABASE_POSTGRES13_CONNECTION_STRING: postgresql://postgres:postgres@localhost:${{ job.services.postgres13.ports[5432] }}
           BACKSTAGE_TEST_DATABASE_POSTGRES9_CONNECTION_STRING: postgresql://postgres:postgres@localhost:${{ job.services.postgres9.ports[5432] }}
@@ -214,7 +213,6 @@ jobs:
           yarn backstage-cli repo test --maxWorkers=2 --workerIdleMemoryLimit=800M --coverage
           bash <(curl -s https://codecov.io/bash) -N $(git rev-parse FETCH_HEAD)
         env:
-          BACKSTAGE_NEXT_TESTS: 1
           BACKSTAGE_TEST_DISABLE_DOCKER: 1
           BACKSTAGE_TEST_DATABASE_POSTGRES13_CONNECTION_STRING: postgresql://postgres:postgres@localhost:${{ job.services.postgres13.ports[5432] }}
           BACKSTAGE_TEST_DATABASE_POSTGRES9_CONNECTION_STRING: postgresql://postgres:postgres@localhost:${{ job.services.postgres9.ports[5432] }}
diff --git a/.github/workflows/deploy_packages.yml b/.github/workflows/deploy_packages.yml
index bebe24d0f6..63dc93ba2c 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/deploy_packages.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/deploy_packages.yml
@@ -105,7 +105,6 @@ jobs:
           bash <(curl -s https://codecov.io/bash) -f packages/core-components/coverage/* -F core-components
           bash <(curl -s https://codecov.io/bash) -f packages/core-plugin-api/coverage/* -F core-plugin-api
         env:
-          BACKSTAGE_NEXT_TESTS: 1
           BACKSTAGE_TEST_DISABLE_DOCKER: 1
           BACKSTAGE_TEST_DATABASE_POSTGRES13_CONNECTION_STRING: postgresql://postgres:postgres@localhost:${{ job.services.postgres13.ports[5432] }}
           BACKSTAGE_TEST_DATABASE_POSTGRES9_CONNECTION_STRING: postgresql://postgres:postgres@localhost:${{ job.services.postgres9.ports[5432] }}
diff --git a/.github/workflows/verify_windows.yml b/.github/workflows/verify_windows.yml
index 75a0633cbe..916dd53366 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/verify_windows.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/verify_windows.yml
@@ -48,7 +48,6 @@ jobs:
       - name: test
         run: yarn backstage-cli repo test --maxWorkers=2 --workerIdleMemoryLimit=1300M
         env:
-          BACKSTAGE_NEXT_TESTS: 1
           BACKSTAGE_TEST_DISABLE_DOCKER: 1
 
       # credit: https://github.com/appleboy/discord-action/issues/3#issuecomment-731426861
diff --git a/packages/cli/config/jest.js b/packages/cli/config/jest.js
index cbe0fda0de..2c224f8161 100644
--- a/packages/cli/config/jest.js
+++ b/packages/cli/config/jest.js
@@ -21,11 +21,11 @@ const glob = require('util').promisify(require('glob'));
 const { version } = require('../package.json');
 
 const envOptions = {
-  nextTests: Boolean(process.env.BACKSTAGE_NEXT_TESTS),
+  oldTests: Boolean(process.env.BACKSTAGE_OLD_TESTS),
   enableSourceMaps: Boolean(process.env.ENABLE_SOURCE_MAPS),
 };
 
-if (envOptions.nextTests) {
+if (!envOptions.oldTests) {
   // Needed so that, at import-time, it can hook into Jest's internals.
   require('./jestCachingModuleLoader');
 }
@@ -135,7 +135,7 @@ async function getProjectConfig(targetPath, extraConfig) {
       '\\.(mjs|cjs|js)$': [
         require.resolve('./jestSwcTransform'),
         {
-          sourceMaps: envOptions.enableSourceMaps || envOptions.nextTests,
+          sourceMaps: envOptions.enableSourceMaps || !envOptions.oldTests,
           jsc: {
             parser: {
               syntax: 'ecmascript',
@@ -146,7 +146,7 @@ async function getProjectConfig(targetPath, extraConfig) {
       '\\.jsx$': [
         require.resolve('./jestSwcTransform'),
         {
-          sourceMaps: envOptions.enableSourceMaps || envOptions.nextTests,
+          sourceMaps: envOptions.enableSourceMaps || !envOptions.oldTests,
           jsc: {
             parser: {
               syntax: 'ecmascript',
@@ -163,7 +163,7 @@ async function getProjectConfig(targetPath, extraConfig) {
       '\\.ts$': [
         require.resolve('./jestSwcTransform'),
         {
-          sourceMaps: envOptions.enableSourceMaps || envOptions.nextTests,
+          sourceMaps: envOptions.enableSourceMaps || !envOptions.oldTests,
           jsc: {
             parser: {
               syntax: 'typescript',
@@ -174,7 +174,7 @@ async function getProjectConfig(targetPath, extraConfig) {
       '\\.tsx$': [
         require.resolve('./jestSwcTransform'),
         {
-          sourceMaps: envOptions.enableSourceMaps || envOptions.nextTests,
+          sourceMaps: envOptions.enableSourceMaps || !envOptions.oldTests,
           jsc: {
             parser: {
               syntax: 'typescript',
@@ -196,9 +196,9 @@ async function getProjectConfig(targetPath, extraConfig) {
     // A bit more opinionated
     testMatch: ['**/*.test.{js,jsx,ts,tsx,mjs,cjs}'],
 
-    runtime: envOptions.nextTests
-      ? require.resolve('./jestCachingModuleLoader')
-      : undefined,
+    runtime: envOptions.oldTests
+      ? undefined
+      : require.resolve('./jestCachingModuleLoader'),
 
     transformIgnorePatterns: [`/node_modules/(?:${transformIgnorePattern})/`],
     ...getRoleConfig(closestPkgJson?.backstage?.role),
@@ -236,7 +236,7 @@ async function getRootConfig() {
 
   const coverageConfig = {
     coverageDirectory: path.resolve(targetPath, 'coverage'),
-    coverageProvider: envOptions.nextTests ? 'babel' : 'v8',
+    coverageProvider: envOptions.oldTests ? 'v8' : 'babel',
     collectCoverageFrom: ['**/*.{js,jsx,ts,tsx,mjs,cjs}', '!**/*.d.ts'],
   };