This text presents an argument that competition, as a pedagogical design element, facilitates students' learning motivation in digital game-based learning environments (DGBLEs). Since competition has long been regarded as an adverse pedagogical element for fostering students' learning motivation, a considerable proportion of educators and researchers in the U.S. have a variety of concerns about implementing competition in educational practices. However, the function of competition in DGBLEs could be fundamentally different. By reviewing major concerns about competition, this text refutes two major concerns about competition and claims that DGBLEs that incorporate competition facilitate students' learning motivation.