ABSTRACT Background Infection control is essential in nursing education, but traditional methods often lack student engagement and may not support long‐term knowledge retention. This randomized controlled trial evaluated the impact of a gamified infection control education program on first‐year nursing students in Turkiye. Methods Sixty students were randomly assigned to either an intervention group ( n = 30) or a control group ( n = 30). The intervention group received a 4‐week gamified program that included physical games, case‐based activities and escape‐room scenarios, all designed according to Bloom's Taxonomy. The control group received standard lecture‐based instruction. Data were collected using the Infection Control Cognitive Achievement Measurement Questionnaire, the Academic Nurse Self‐Efficacy Scale and the Learning Motivation Scale in Higher Education. Analyses included t ‐tests, Mann–Whitney U tests, correlation analyses and regression. Results The intervention group showed higher learning motivation ( p = 0.025) and greater cognitive achievement in sterilization and asepsis ( p = 0.024), though these differences did not remain significant after Holm–Bonferroni correction. No significant difference in academic self‐efficacy was observed ( p > 0.05). Regression analysis showed that the learning objectives subdimension of the Learning Motivation in Higher Education Scale significantly predicted cumulative grade point average ( p < 0.001, R 2 = 0.241). Conclusion Gamified learning may enhance motivation and specific cognitive outcomes but appears to have a limited impact on self‐efficacy. As a complementary method to traditional instruction, it holds promise, particularly when integrated with clinical practice and personalized feedback. Trial Registration ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT06786806
Öner et al. (Tue,) studied this question.