diff --git a/src/network/NetworkMessage.h b/src/network/NetworkMessage.h
index 41314d5..0df8c82 100644
--- a/src/network/NetworkMessage.h
+++ b/src/network/NetworkMessage.h
@@ -157,7 +157,7 @@ namespace Feather::Network
             uint8_t sizeBytes[VARINT_MAX_SIZE];
 
             // compute the size of the packet excluding the size marker
-            int value = m_data.size() - VARINT_MAX_SIZE;
+            int value = int(m_data.size() - VARINT_MAX_SIZE);
             int index = 0;
 
             // perform WriteVarInt into the static buffer sizeBytes