| Sumario: | Background: Researchers debate whether game‐based learning (GBL) affects students' achievement emotions, as past studies yielded mixed results. Objectives: This study determines the overall effect of GBL on students' positive achievement emotion and their negative achievement emotions (PAEs, NAEs), along with their moderators. Methods: This meta‐analysis examined true or quasi‐experimental studies, reported in English or Chinese, and with students (ranging from primary schools to universities) who did not report physiological and/or psychological illnesses. Results: Compared to traditional instruction, GBL had a positive effect on students' PAEs (g =0.526, k = 39, 95% CI = [0.319, 0.733]) and a negative effect on NAEs (g = −0.517, k = 22, 95% CI = [−0.709, −0.324]). GBL's positive effects on students' PAEs were (a) largest in middle school and otherwise generally larger in higher grades, and (b) largest for competition GBLs (compared to cooperative or individual GBLs). GBL's negative effects on students' NAEs were (a) larger in collectivist cultures than individualistic ones, (b) progressively larger in primary school, middle school, and university, (c) larger for non‐digital games than digital games, (d) smallest for individual games, (e) progressively larger in mathematics, social sciences, language, science, and highest in engineering and technology, and (f) smallest for extremely short or extremely long intervention durations (very short: up to 45 min; very long: over 2 months). Take Away: GBL often increases students' PAEs and decreases their NAEs, though their effect sizes differ across cultural values, grade level, game type, academic subject, or intervention duration. Hence, educators should consider these aspects when designing / selecting education games for their students and instructional contexts. Lay Description: What is already known: There are many definitions concerning educational games, resulting in a lack of consensus in conceptualisation.The impact of educational games on students' learning and development has aroused significant interest among scholars.As previous studies have shown mixed results, whether GBL supports or hinders students' achievement emotions remains ambiguous. What this paper adds: Contribution to a clarification of the overall effect sizes of educational games on students' positive and negative achievement emotions (PAEs and NAEs).Insights into the impacts of educational games on students' PAEs and NAEs taking into account some moderator variables (e.g., cultural values, grade level, game type, academic subject, intervention duration). Implications for practice: Planners, implementers and evaluators of GBL should carefully consider the appropriateness of digital games in learning.GBL can be appropriately applied in teaching to control the fluctuations of middle school students' NAEs.Concrete suggestions for future research are discussed.
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