diff --git a/engine/common/system.c b/engine/common/system.c
index dc420335..1f180ffd 100644
--- a/engine/common/system.c
+++ b/engine/common/system.c
@@ -128,11 +128,17 @@ const char *Sys_GetCurrentUser( void )
 {
 	// TODO: move to platform
 #if XASH_WIN32
-	static string	s_userName;
-	unsigned long size = sizeof( s_userName );
+	static wchar_t sw_userName[MAX_STRING];
+	DWORD size = ARRAYSIZE( sw_userName );
 
-	if( GetUserName( s_userName, &size ))
+	if( GetUserNameW( sw_userName, &size ) && sw_userName[0] != 0 )
+	{
+		static char s_userName[MAX_STRING * 4];
+
+		// set length to -1, so it will null terminate
+		WideCharToMultiByte( CP_UTF8, 0, sw_userName, -1, s_userName, sizeof( s_userName ), NULL, NULL );
 		return s_userName;
+	}
 #elif XASH_PSVITA
 	static string username;
 	sceAppUtilSystemParamGetString( SCE_SYSTEM_PARAM_ID_USERNAME, username, sizeof( username ) - 1 );