Background: Children with low reading skills are less frequently engaged in reading activities and therefore the likelihood of improving their reading skills decreases. Digital game-based interventions have emerged as a promising tool for promoting reading development in children, particularly those with reading difficulties. As syllable-based reading interventions are likely to increase word reading skills in low-skilled readers, we developed a new reading intervention application that emphasizes syllable segmentation and integrates proven elements of digital game-based learning. The intervention aimed to promote phonological recoding and consolidating orthographic representation of syllables. Objectives: The present study investigated the effects of the newly developed syllable-based reading intervention application on general word recognition skills, phonological recoding processes, orthographic decoding processes and text-level reading comprehension skills in German second graders. Methods: In a quasi-experimental design, children with low word recognition skills were randomly assigned to a treatment group (n = 66) or a wait-list group (n = 66). General word recognition skills, phonological recoding processes, orthographic decoding processes and text-level reading comprehension were measured with standardized German reading tests before and after the treatment group received the digital reading intervention for 20 sessions. Results: Results indicated that the children in the treatment group showed significant improvement in general word recognition and in phonological recoding processes compared to equally low-skilled untreated children in the wait-list group. Orthographic decoding processes improved only in children with less severe impairments, whereas no significant improvements were found in text-level reading comprehension. Take Aways: The digital reading intervention is a promising approach for supporting word reading in low-skilled reading second graders and can serve as an effective intervention tool for this target group.