Objective <p>Exploring the impact of digital games on children’s early creative expression.</p> Method <p>300 kids aged 4–6 were randomly divided into an experimental group (EG, <i>n</i> = 150) and a control group (CG, <i>n</i> = 150). The EG received a 16-week intervention with three types of digital games (creative painting, digital scenarios, story creation), 30&#xa0;min per session, three times a week; the CG followed regular activities. Using a pre-test and post-test control group design, the pre-test measured initial creativity (drawing creation, storytelling) via the self-developed "Early Childhood Creative Expression Ability Assessment Scale" and game process observation; the post-test was conducted at the experiment’s end. Quantitative data were analyzed with SPSS26.0, and qualitative data via thematic analysis.</p> Results <p>Before intervention, there was no significant difference in creative expression or game process observation between the two groups (<i>P</i> &gt; 0.05). After intervention, the EG outperformed the CG significantly in drawing innovativeness (<i>P</i> &lt; 0.001), storytelling plot richness (<i>P</i> &lt; 0.001), and most dimensions of drawing creative expression, storytelling multidimensionality, and game process observation (<i>P</i> &lt; 0.05); the EG also showed significant pre-post improvements in all dimensions (<i>P</i> &lt; 0.001), while no gender difference was found (<i>P</i> &gt; 0.05).</p> Conclusion <p>Digital games significantly enhance children’s early creative expression, providing a basis for applying digital resources in early childhood education and optimizing teaching methods to promote children’s creativity.</p>