As education increasingly integrates digital tools to meet 21st-century demands, game-based learning (GBL) has emerged as a promising approach for fostering critical thinking, collaboration, and problem-solving skills. However, effectively incorporating digital games into teaching practices requires specialized knowledge. Building on Shulman’s (1986) concept of pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) and the Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) framework by Mishra and Koehler (2006), the Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge-Games (TPACK-G) framework was developed to address the unique challenges of game-based learning (Hsu et al., 2013). While GBL holds great potential, teachers often struggle to align digital games with pedagogical goals. This challenge is particularly pronounced in culturally specific contexts like Turkey, where teacher training programs frequently fail to adequately prepare teachers for the demands of technology-enhanced learning environments. Moreover, teachers' attitudes toward games significantly impact their usage. Research shows that teachers with positive attitudes and prior gaming experience are more likely to integrate games into their teaching (Bonanno & Kommers, 2008). Conversely, teachers with negative views tend to avoid using games (Kenny & McDaniel, 2011). Positive attitudes also enhance the likelihood of meeting educational goals through GBL (Hsu et al., 2020). These findings emphasize the importance of fostering favorable attitudes to encourage the effective use of games in the classroom. However, it remains unclear to what extent attitudes toward digital games relate to teachers' knowledge in the Turkish context, and further research is needed to explore this relationship and inform the development of targeted teacher training programs. Thus, this study examines the relationship between pre-service teachers’ attitudes toward games, as measured by the Utilizing Digital Games Attitude (UDGA) Scale, and their competencies across TPACK-G dimensions: Game Knowledge (GK), Game Pedagogical Knowledge (GPK), Game Content Knowledge (GCK), and Game Pedagogical Content Knowledge (GPCK). A total of 389 pre-service teachers completed the TPACK-G questionnaire and UDGA scale. Participants were categorized into three attitude groups: medium, high, and very high. ANOVA results revealed significant effects of attitude groups on all TPACK-G factors (p < 0.05). For example, GK scores in the very high group were significantly higher than those in the medium and high groups (p < 0.05). Similar patterns were observed for GPK, GCK, and GPCK. This means that pre-service teachers with more positive attitudes toward games tend to perform better across all TPACK-G dimensions, particularly in GK. This study underscores the importance of fostering positive attitudes toward games in teacher training programs and enhancing competencies for game-based teaching to support effective technology integration in education.

Keywords: Pre-service teachers, game knowledge, attitude, digital games, teachers training.